Thursday 26 Nov ‘09

This morning traffic was a nightmare! We did our best not to fall behind schedule on our way to meet Victor in Evaton, a producer of brick force (wire cable used in the construction of brick walls). He contacted us after our presentation on local economic development in Vereeniging (see Wed. 18 Nov) we’re handing him application forms and beginning to assess document his business growth. He’s very keen to enter our mentorship programme,according to him his biggest obstacles are entering the market and furthering his marketing possibilities. The meeting went really well, we toured his place of work and found that he has capable workforce and machinery to produce his product,We’re excited to introduce him into the programme! We then drove through the merciless traffic towards Eastgate, where we were to meet with Mthunzi,a senior ranking official of the Gauteng Provincial Government in the Arts, Culture and Heritage section and Gordon Froud, an internationally renowned artist,gallery owner and fine arts lecturer at the UJ (University of Johannesburg). The meeting started as soon as we where all seated, jumping straight into a Makarapa and Vuvuzela production project for next year. We discussed the pros and cons of upmarket designs against traditional ‘township curio’,the creation of prototypes,time consumption theories and the amount of products we hope to have created by February next year. The training was also discussed and it was decided we should start no later than the 8 December, completing the course by 15, beginning with the mentorship and production by the 4 January! Despite the long hours in traffic, today was great and alot was clarified and accomplished!

Wednesday 25 Nov ‘09

Our first stop today was in Kempton Park, picking up sample frames for the Sharpeville Exhibition Centres’ travelling exhibition, where they’ll be displaying photographs of the epic massacre(see previous blogs)
Once we’d collected the frame we drove through to Sharpeville (a drive that seems to take longer every time!) to view and measure further pictures to be used. We were supposed to meet with one of our talented craftsmen, Mshoban, but unfortunately he had business elsewhere, however we did get to speak with Mary (A well known community leader) and arranged meetings with local crafters for next week. Ex combatants (former MK members) where striking in Vanderbijlpark Civic Centre to have tenders of construction in Sedibeng (According to Sharpeville ‘street news’) so we avoided that area!! We then drove through to Tembisa to meet with Maria and Martha, two brilliant beaders of exceptional skill. We bargained with them over the keyring item price,much fun!! Tembisa,in comparison to other communities is not near half as well maintained , with people having to live in extreme conditions! Nevertheless,the skill of these beaders, dressmakers and crafters alike is intense! It’s inspiring to see them working so hard to create such beautiful work despite their living and working conditions!!

Tuesday 24 Nov '09

We're back through Heidelberg today,into the Ratanda location and as we arrive we're met by our group of potential artists and crafters,on time! So far so good!
However,the Ratanda Library refused to let us use their building as a meeting place,so we took to the streets instead!We explained the intricacies of sustaining a business,from the marketing aspects to goods manufacture.The attendees ranged from old to young,able to disabled,male to female.at one stage there seemed to be a problem that our workshop was presented in English,so we had to explain that its not a discriminatory thing,just that its the widely used language of business!!With 2010 so close they cant expect tourists from,say,Germany to understand Sotho or Xhosa!We then handed out roughly 30 application and assessment forms,it's now up to them to complete these applications so that we can further assess their businesses and take it from there!!
Once that was done and after we'd arranged to meet with a few of these entrepreneurs next Tuesday again,we followed David (Sedibeng municipality,Arts and Culture official) to the Lesedi Municipality to take part in a meeting with Solly Sibaya,the new Arts,Culture and Heritage official in Lesedi.We spoke about the forging of a partnership between our private sector and their arts department!Solly was recently transferred from Tourism, it should be interesting working with him! That's it for the day,tomorrow we're back in Sharpeville!

Thursday 19 Nov '09

This morning we're in Sharpeville,a place known mainly for the massacre that took place here on the 21 march 1976,where police opened fire on a gathering of unarmed protesters who sang songs and shouted political slogans. We made our way to the old police station which played a huge role in the 21 march tragedy. It's now being occupied by local craftsmen and artists as a 'place to create'. We took some time to speak to these guys and learn they're eager to expand, its awesome to see what they're doing! We scheduled a meeting for Wednesday where we'll go over their styles and swap ideas with the craftsmen, who are also amped to start recruiting new talents! Next up we were meeting with David (our Heidelberg contact) to discuss further work with the Heidelberg crafter's, we also discussed the use of the group of artists we met on Tuesday, unfortunately as they are still in school they're not eligible for loans. These are kinks that must be followed up and sorted out. Trying to get people into the programme can prove to be frustrating if the people aiding us cannot be reached or found! Like looking for a needle in a stack of needles. I was shocked to hear the amount of politics involved in our work,apparently from what i heard,some members of a crafts group aim to monopolize the situation by keeping other groups in the dark and making it a political thing when its really about upliftment and entrepreneurial progress..

But aside from that,everything seems to be moving along well,hopefully everything goes smoothly next Tuesday when we can meet and asses our new group of crafters!!

Wednesday 18 Nov. '09

Local Economic Department,Vereeniging.
This morning we're headed to Vereeniging to document a presentation programme held by the Sedibeng District Municipality.They'll be covering issues such as 'Finance beyond housing construction' and 'Taxation in business/clearance' with speakers from SARS and NURCHA
(National Urban Rural Construction Housing Agency)
The workshop opened with Mr. M. Kantso, manager of LED (Local Economic Department)
saying that as district officials,it is time to put words into action regarding business development.
Next up was Mr. M. Libaze of SARS, speaking about the registration of profit and non-profit businesses within 60 days.He also clarified some rumours about tax penalties,outstanding tax documents are to be fined at R250 per page, per month! After SARS, the CIBD projects manager, Mr. R. Raphiri spoke on the procedures of construction,development and the effects of these on our economy.Touching on methods of evaluation,grading criteria,application processes and validity of registration! After their lengthy speech the floor was opened for a Q&A session and i was glad to see i wasn't the only person who was lost completely!!
Next up was NURCHA presented by Ms Penny Mboyi whose entire presentation was in sotho,so most of her speech was lost on me,however i did understand that they offer affordable housing and new development products projects...
NSIC (National Small Industries Corporation) Fronted by a Mr. Rajesh Kumar,discussed incubation,promotion and development in small enterprise establishment,
finally,it was time for our presentation,where Hanolet from NEOSHO Discussed the Vuka Mentorship Programme,through Anglo America, women,youth and the disabled entrepreneurs of S.A will be chosen and arranged in groups of approximately 10 members based on skills and businesses,they will then be taught the necessary skills over a seven month period,three sessions per month! A further six months of intense training will assist in helping these entrepreneurs to find and build a client basis for them to render their services or sell their products to..
not as exciting as yesterdays line up but its all part and parcel of our jobs at NEOSHO.. i feel today went really well and we where heard and remembered by alot of individuals,which is all we needed to achieve!

Tuesday 17 nov. '09

My first day on the job and thanks to traffic,what was supposed to be an early start ended up with us only leaving Edenvale at 9 O'clock!! Thankfully the road to Heidelberg was quieter,
allowing us to stop for a much needed coffee,myself excited and eager to see what the day would bring. On entering Ratanda,the location just outside Heidelberg,you can see the development that has already taken place,on one side of the street are neat little RDP houses but on the other you will see what looks like the older,ramshackle mining dorms and makeshift tin shelters!
The contrast is crazy! Some houses falling apart whilst others are well maintained with the latest BMW parked in the driveway! We made our way to the local library and waited for our contact to arrive.All eyes on us as we waited by the car. You instantly know you're the outsider here,
unfortunately,after an hour of failed phonecalls our contact informed us he couldnt make it,however,we met a local group of young artists and a lady named Poppy Mofokeng.
Once we set up a meeting for next Tuesday,Poppy assured us she would have a larger group of local craftsmen for us to speak to! So all in all it was a productive day,we'll just have to wait until next week to see how productive!

Monday 16 nov. '09

Hey there! My name is Wesley,welcome to my blog!
What i aim to do here is shed a little light on life is S.A,
I'm gonna be documenting the everyday trials of a marketing company
called NEOSHO,I'll be keeping a journal on my experiences while working
with this company,we'll be travelling to rural areas in search of local craftsmen and designers!
NEOSHO's aim is to train these people by teaching them the relevant management skills
necessary in opening and running a successful small business.
I will be uploading new journal entries,photos and video footage as often as poissible
so you can follow our progress!! Feel free to get involved by adding your own comments
or queries!