Since 1995 when the mining/quarry corporations moved their operations across the river, the community of Ngweya have adopted the mine and been quarrying stone selling it for building works and paving.
It supports 405 families who excavate the quarry and crush the stones by hand. A “pile of stones” which is roughly 1 ton takes a week to make. And is sold for approximately $10, and earnings are dependent upon there being a buyer. In addition to the families who take the stone from the quarry there are approximately 50 young men who benefit by being paid for loading the stone onto vehicles as and when the stone is sold.
The community use heavy steel pipes to split the rock from the quarry wall, then bring the large pieces of stone from the quarry floor to the top by wheelbarrow, where the stone is crushed using a hammer into smaller pieces for building stone. It’s very noticeable that the majority of the workers are women.
The quarry has been community operated now for 26 years but has a finite life span. According to Annie, the community mines/quarry Chairperson, they have already been advised by the Ministry of Mines to make alternative plans for income generation when the quarry is no longer. She observed that the quarry certainly doesn’t have the capacity to support the community for another 26 years.
One potential idea is to turn the quarry into fish ponds, this however would take some finances and expertise that the community haven’t yet obtained.
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Nyami Nyami is the Serpent like River God of the Tonga Tribe. A god who presides over the mighty Zambezi River and looked after the people that live(d) along its’ banks. Legend has it that the Nyami is at least 3 feet wide but no one has ever seen his entire length and when he swam past the water ran red. It is said he went into hiding when the White Man arrived.
Nyami Nyami is a corruption of the original name Nyama yamaninga ninga and literally means “meat, meat”. The Nyami Nyami was said to reside with his wife under rocks close to where, nowadays Lake Kariba Dam is situated .
Nyami Nyami provided the people with water for crops and animals and in times of drought would rise his mighty body from the Zambezi and allow the people to cut away strips of meat for food from his powerful and large body.
The legend of the Nyami Nyami was reinforced in the 1950’s when the Kariba Dam was being built. There were 5 terrifying natural events that occurred. It is believed that the building of the Dam separated Nyami Nyami and his wife, who had gone down stream to bless their people.
On 15 February 1950 as survey work for the new dam was ongoing a cyclone swept up from the Indian Ocean. The mighty Zambezi rose by 7 meters in the swell of this hurricane. When rescue teams arrived 3 days later the tree tops were strewn with dead antelopes and other animals and the survey team swept away in a landslide.
On Christmas Eve 1955 as work had began in earnest a mighty flood stormed down the gorge and washed away the foundations, receded and swept down again.
November 1956 with work still ongoing flash floods came early and impeded work on the Dam. The early rain falls gathered in the catchments and plains above what was to be the Dam and the river rose by six meters crashing through the gorge and into the dam catchment area and it was only in March 1957 that water levels subsided – this was a 1 in 1,000 year event.
Yet the Nyami Nyami was said to still be angered and in January 1958 a flood such as could be expected to occur only once in every 10 000 years, swept down the riverbed, wreaking havoc on all in its path. 16 million litres per second exploded over the suspension bridge for the Dam.
Yet the Dam was built and it is said that The Nyami Naymi is to this day separated from his wife.
]]>We caught up with Pure Skills to find out how they have gone about educating the community and whether they have seen an improvement.
How do have you gone about educating the community?
The Women’s groups and our team have been instrumental in community educations, along with partnerships with local NGO’s. We work to understand what impact’s each community most. So as an example is their asthma and breathing problems? Does this matter, and do the community care? Then we’d still do a full workshop but look at how we dispose of waste and how what we use has a big impact on the health of a community. A lot of show and tell, with practical solutions. Asking communities if they can tell us in their own words how they are impacted by current methods of disposing of waste. What do they think they can do differently? Culminating in workshops on how to re-use waste for a purpose or income for those that wish to learn.
Have you seen an improvement in understanding?
Most definitely yes we have seen improvements in understanding and a willingness to change behaviours to support the environment, and benefit the community. There is still a long way to go, though. However, it’s wonderful to see how eloquently and practically our local staff, women’s groups and NGO’s can relay the information in a way everyone understands both practically and on an intellectual level. There is always a lot of laughter, fun, questions and suggestions which shows real engagement.
]]>Sishemo is a group of 7 female artisans based in the Nakatindi community, Livingstone, Southern Zambia. Nakatindi borders the Mosi-oa-Tunya National park, home to many species of animals as well as the mighty Zambezi River and awe-inspiring Victoria Falls. Sishemo take discarded glass bottles from lodges, hotels and households across Livingstone, crush and fire the glass into handcrafted, unique beads using traditional techniques. These beads are then used to make one-of-a-kind necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other bead products sold from the Sishemo Studio in Nakatindi and other outlets in Livingstone, Lusaka and now through the ABANYA online store.
Sishemo’s artisans range from 21 to 65 years old, and collectively support over 40 family members and dependents, of which 14 are children. Employment opportunities in Nakatindi are extremely limited, particularly for women and for those who did not complete their education. Before Sishemo officially launched, 50% of our artisans reported regularly being unable to pay school fees for their children, and just 2 of the members completed their own secondary education due to lack of funding for school fees. Back in 2019, their households brought in an average of around $50 per month through informal piece work. As the owners and artisans of Sishemo Beads each of our members are now the breadwinners in their families and are able to work towards their future goals with a sustainable source of income.
Since 2018, the Sishemo have been working together to develop their small enterprise in partnership with Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy (AKP), a registered US-based NGO who support community development projects in locations across the world in association with Abercrombie & Kent, a global travel company. In 2018 AKP supported the costs of the initial skills training for Sishemo’s artisans - a master glass-bead maker from Ghana spent 3 months in Zambia with the Sishemo ladies teaching them the skills they would need to start their own glass bead-making enterprise. AKP also funded the construction costs of the Sishemo Studio in the heart of Nakatindi’s market square. Following this start-up support, Sishemo has been financially self-sufficient, using the income generated through product sales to fund the cost of their business as well as donating a portion of selected sales to local community and conservation projects.
In mid-March 2020 the Sishemo Studio was temporarily closed following the first confirmed cases of COVID 19 in Zambia. With the almost over-night loss of tourists, Sishemo lost their entire customer base and the business was suddenly put in an extremely vulnerable position. In early July 2020, the team resumed part-time work at the Studio and begun generating a minimal income. Sishemo have used this time to regroup and realign their business model to provide a more sustainable and resilient foundation for the future – this is how ABANYA was born. Together with Pure Skills, we developed the idea of a collaborative network of artisans and access to an international online marketplace into a reality!
Whilst working with a volunteer organisation based in Livingstone and through the community activities we managed I realised there was a whole generation of adults whom had missed out on education for a variety of reasons. For some there was not enough money in the household (particularly true of women), others it was that they had to look after family due to deaths within the family and extended family and earn an income. Many of these wonderful people were passionate about uplifting themselves and their communities. We felt that skills training shouldn’t have to be linked to an individual’s academic achievement. Also with little or no waste management within Livingstone and the surrounding areas it made sense to look at waste as free resource. Coupled with the fact that we are passionate about our environment and wish to preserve the beauty for all.
So Pure Skills was created, first with metal fabrication, then repurposing of glass and soap making at the workshop along with skills based women’s club again where possible using free waste materials to repurpose into usable saleable items. Alongside working with the volunteer organisation we began to ustilise eco-bricks which are another way to keep non degradable waste out of the environment and provide free building blocks.
]]>Hello World!
We are so excited to officially launch the ABANYA online store showcasing our first handcrafted products from Southern Zambia.
Click through to see our first official online products, from Sishemo’s recycled glass bead jewelry and recycled plastic woven bowls and placemats from Nakatundu to glasswear from Pure Skills, we’ve got something for everyone!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with new product launches, makers’ stories and special offers.
Happy shopping!
The ABANYA Team x
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