Our romantic notion of the San peoples is for the most part wrong. As westerners who have not visited with the San we have a concept of people living in the bushveld in harmony with nature.
This could not be further from the truth. They live in small camps - some would say villages - but "village “means cohesive, functioning community living. These are more like squatter camps mixed with refugee camps.
They are not allowed to hunt, there are very few amenities, and poverty is the norm. They are looked down upon by most other indigenous peoples and tribes - and in fact are thought of more as animals than humans.
The camps I visited have a bottle store and a church at the entrance - trapping these wonderful people between cultures and concepts that they are ill equipped to deal with. And those that are not addicted to booze or religion are addicted to sugar - taking up to 15 teaspoons in a cup of tea.
The skills and knowledge that have been passed down are fast being lost in the trap of western capitalism.
The challenge for these peoples is move to the modern world whilst avoiding the pitfalls. It seems they are failing and are now a rapidly dying peoples.
They survive on charity from the Church and various NGO's - each making their own demands and conditions - often not in the interests of the Bushman. Limited income is generated by making crafts for the tourists and curio shops - both of which seem to find pleasure in screwing these desperate people for the lowest price possible. I have seen tourists bargaining a price down to the point of loss and walking away feeling great that they got such a bargain. Desperate people will take anything.
But there is hope. My friend Paul from Everything Ethnic has taken the challenge of helping the Bushman. He has dedicated many years of his life looking for solutions. He has identified markets and products for the San peoples and is trying to build a brand under which the Bushman can trade. This will enable the San to protect their Intellectual property rights. It will also enable them to work and sell under fair trade practises. Together with Paul are a group of people contributing various skills and resources to the project. My part is to design and facilitate a range of jewellery that can be manufactured by the San. All the designs and processes will be held in trust by the San peoples. All of this work is pro bono.
The jewellery on this site has no relation to these ranges. We are busy with some fantastic pieces of bushman jewelry, which ultimately will be manufactured and sold to the total benefit of the San. Keep an eye here for links to Pauls project. You will be blown away - as Paul like to say. The range will include clothing, leather work, music amongst other things. The Bushman jewellery is a small part of a huge vision that Paul has.
Enjoy the site - know that indirectly you will be helping the San.
You can visit our other shopping sites – nothing to do with the San bushman – but some great Jewelry – www.africangold.co.za – African style jewellery, www.celticjewellery.co.za www.titaniumweddingrings.co.za – titanium wedding bands, www.trilogyjewellers.co.za – titanium rings and bangles for the trade, www.africanmaskjewelry.com - African Mask jewellery in silver and gold.
Wayne
2010
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