Artists

Artist Bio

Thishangu Mapadhi

Affectionately known as Thisha, she is one of the expert basket weavers in the group. Born in 1967, she is a single mother of four children (3 boys and 1 girl). She is originally from Namibia and came to Botswana in 1983. She has never been to school and never got married. Basket weaving is the only source of income for her family, contributing a monthly average of $30. This is even lower than the old age pension in the country. She has really mastered the art of basket weaving, being able to weave without looking. Although she has made every attempt to educate her children, she is struggling to make ends meet. Her youngest son was recently admitted to senior school and she is currently trying to save for his school fees, which is a real tall order looking at her income. During the harvesting season she spares some days to cultivate her fields with the hope that she will harvest enough crops to supplement her meager income from basket weaving. Unfortunately the rain is not reliable and sometimes she does not harvest anything substantial.

Artist Bio

Eneya Mbengenge

Eneya was born in Etsha in 1975. She started basket weaving in 1991. She is a widowed mother of 3 children. Her husband died in 2002 leaving her with the burden of taking care of the children, one which is proving a difficult task by each passing day. Her first born recently failed to pass high school and the future does not look bright at all. At her young age, Eneya is full of life and really loving her basket weaving job. She is a very creative woman and her baskets are some of the best in the village and in the country. She has never been to school and she even struggles to remember the year she was born. Always full of smiles and vey welcoming indeed! ‘The problem, she says, ‘is that some people take advantage of our poverty and desperate situation and buy our baskets at very cheap prices, something we can not do nothing about since we have to buy food and soap for our children.’ Her stylish baskets certainly deserve to bring her some better income.

Artist Bio

Kunyima Shamwaka

Kunyima is probably the comedian of the group. Always passing jokes. She was born in Etsha in 1970 and has 5 children. Kunyima has never been to school and 3 of her children have failed at school and are currently at home facing the realities of life without education. But the only way to survive, she says, is to get into basket weaving. ‘We do not have any option, and if we don’t do it our children are going to die’, she says. She also cultivates the fields during the farming season but she has to use a hand held hoe to do it and to cultivate an acre takes the whole month. She really loves the basket weaving job but also decries the fact that they usually get cheated and their baskets bought for peanuts.

Artist Bio

Thingoma Yayara

Thingoma, also known as Kitso, was born in 1988. She dropped from school in 2007. She went back to complete her high school education in 2008. Unfortunately she failed miserably and had to join Maiteko Group so as to raise some money to help her upgrade her grades. She is probably the youngest of the group. She learned the trade from her mother who is a renowned expert herself. Kitso had ambitions of becoming a nurse and her dream seems far from being accomplished. She’s really saddened by the fact that she cannot get help from the government to improve on her grades. She has a kid to look after.