By Ogova Ondego
Published March 28, 2014
Each one of us generates about two kilogrammes of trash daily and a further 1,500 kilogrammes of solid waste annually. You and I throw away 20,000,000,000 kilogrammes of food waste every year. The waste you and I produce generates climate-altering greenhouse gas emission equivalent to taking 2,000,000 cars off the road!
But this need not be so if some innovative waste management activities were employed. For instance, creating arts and craft–mats, household accessories, jewellery, toys–from that waste. From this, families could supplement their income.
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The Book Cafe, in partnership with Zimbabwe Applied Art and Craft Association (ZAACA), is in its monthly Book Cafe Craft Fair on March 29, 2014 focusing on recycling of waste material.
The organisers say families participating in the free event in Harare between 11.00 AM and 6.00 PM shall have the chance to “build a super-sized bin made from recycled bottles and paper on site.” That bin, they say in a statement to the media, will be used to collect cans and plastic to be donated to craftspeople.
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“We are encouraging visitors to the craft fair to bring used cans, bottles and sack cloth and donate them to crafters who will use them to make beautiful items,”says Daniel Jabesi, Book Cafe Venue Manager.
Also expected to feature in the fair shall be a fishy seafood extravaganza: seafood pizza, grilled Kariba Bream marinated with herbs and Malawian fish stew brought to you by Book Cafe’s Food-as-Culture project completes this fun-filled day for the family and friends.
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The Book Cafe say they teamed up with ZAACA in December 2013 “to establish the Craft Fair as an innovative platform for the promotion and sale of traditional and modern Zimbabwean craft, in a high-traffic venue in the city centre, which is fully engaged in the arts, and attracts thousands of music and arts-lovers through the year. The aim of ZAACA is to foster contemporary and traditional craft practice in and for Zimbabwe.”
While some 30 exhibitors are expected to display and sell an array of craft and artworks, the Book Cafe Bookshop will be offering a selection of local music CDs and books by local and African authors.
The Craft Fair, The Book Cafe and ZAACA say, “embeds the material culture of Zimbabwe into the Book Cafe’s scope of arts coverage that includes all genres in the local music scene, theatre, film, books, poetry, stand-up comedy, fashion and a wide range of arts dialogue.”
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Craftwork, as a form of cultural expression, has a distinguished history in Zimbabwe where basket-ware and products made of wood, metal, wire and stone tell her stories: identity, values and way of life.
ZAACA has promoted its members by exhibiting locally and internationally at festivals and fairs and creating its own events, the organisers say.
