The remote village of Vondelling, located 43km from the Karoo-town of Willowmore, has emerged as a prime model of how investing in people can bear a sustainable means of improving a community. The Vondelling Optel Craft, a cooperative established in 2006 after receiving a start-up injection of R200 000 from the Cacadu District Municipality (CDM), have successfully grown the project and as such have become a beacon of hope for the community.
The community-based enterprise has excelled in their Christmas decoration crafts, with a string focus on angels. As a result their products are not only retailing throughout South Africa but have managed to clinch 2 export contracts in Norway in 2008 to the value of R200 000. One of these export orders was secured in June, and the other was a result of their products exhibited at the International Trade Fair in Oslo, Norway in August.
The twelve-member team, which had no skill prior to the inception of the project, received basic training on craft production for a marketable product range. The venture has since shown year-on-year success. Craft Partners, the implementation agent working with the enterprise has ensured growth of the business, evaluated access into new markets, as well as provided overall support and human capital development to the team.
The good performance and positive future prospects of the project has motivated the Cacadu District Municipality to start evaluating the possibility of replicating the project in Rietbron during the 2008/09 financial year. Furthermore, the district municipality is in talks with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation for further business development support needed for the project.
“The project is in line with our commitment to the thrusts of our district’s Economic Growth and Development Plan, which has a strong focus on skills and human capital development in areas where there is no potential to attract investment and job creation,” says CDM local economic development manager, Duma Magxwalisa.
“A positive effect we have seen from crafters involved in the project is that they have been transformed in their understanding of entrepreneurship and in the development of their life skills,” ends Magxwalisa.
