Submitted in fulfillment of the degree by dissertation
MASTERS DEGREE: ARTS AND CULTURE MANAGEMENT
In the
Department of Humanities
FACULTY OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE MANAGEMENT
UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND
AUGUST 2014 / This dissertation aims to examine how pottery factories in the North West province
were conceived and how relevant their functions are, within the confines of craft
product development training initiatives, as potential contributors to social
empowerment, job creation and economic sustainability today. The dissertation will
trace and analyse the impact of specific training initiatives undertaken to empower
potters from one of these factories. The focus will be on the methods used to transfer
product design and craft manufacturing skills (craftsmanship) as well as evaluating
the challenges and success of these methods in promoting self-reliance and
sustaining livelihood economically. The impact of these methods will be assessed by
the beneficiaries’ ability to integrate concepts, ideas and action as well as their
understanding of the markets and ability to follow through orders.
The research draws inspiration from the South African National Development Plan:
Vision 2030 (NDP, 2011: 10). The plan envisages that by 2030; “the economy should
be close to full employment; equip people with the skills they need; ensure that
ownership of production is less concentrated and more diverse (where black people
and women own a significant share of productive assets); and be able to grow
rapidly, providing the resources to pay for investment in human and physical capital”.
One of the key sectors anticipated to contribute in achieving the vision of the NDP is
the craft sector as suggested by the Department of Trade and Industries (DTI’s)
Customised Sector Programme (DTI, 2005). This vision is possible in the craft
community if community development efforts are not rushed towards achieving
immediate results, but rather focus on the long term of investing in and empowering
people with the relevant skills. Writing about applying design to alleviate poverty,
Thomas (2006) suggests that sustainable results can only be achieved in the long
term because short term initiatives are dependent on single individuals from ‘outside’
organisations for designs and markets. And therefore this research focuses on
pottery factories established in the year 2010 by Mintek’s Small Scale Mining
Beneficiation Programme, particularly the Timbita Ceramic Incubator.
According to the Minister of Arts and Culture the honourable Mr Paul Mashatile, the
cultural and creative industries have the potential to be an important driver of
economic growth and job creation (Business report, 5 April 2011, 17). Perceiving the
creative sector beyond aesthetic and human development dimensions, and more as
a sector with the potential to contribute to economic growth and job creation
stimulated the assumption of more responsibility for stakeholders and government to
invest in both financial and skills development. It is important then, to analyse
whether the training methods implemented are efficient and effective in empowering
these communities and whether or not they yield sustainable results.
It is, therefore, anticipated that this study will contribute toward, at least within the
South African context, the limited literature in craft development as an economic
industry from the context of crafts product development and craftsmanship skills
transfer. Applied research looking at practical cases will be combined with various
literature engagements, and supported by semi-structured in-depth interviews used
as tools to obtain information for this research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/18310 |
| Date | 25 August 2015 |
| Creators | Mahlangu, Isaac Bongani |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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