214 The Pterocarpus angolensis DC. based woodcraft industry in the Bushbuckridge districtPROCESSING INDUSTRYProduction and income
Woodcarvers and furniture manufacturers using indigenous woods constitute
only a small proportion of the total population of Bushbuckridge. Exact numbers
are difficult to obtain, but there are an estimated 50 woodcarving and 60
furniture making households in the area supporting, directly and indirectly,
some 2,000 employees and family members.
Carvers produce undecorated utility items such as bowls, spoons from ladles
to serving spoons and teaspoons, platters, trays in a variety of sizes and walking
sticks, which are marketed outside the district. Some items such as mortars and
pestles, spoons and traditional sticks may be made for the local market on
request. Less frequently produced goods include bangles, candlesticks, key rings,
batons and eggs. Furniture makers can produce almost any item of furniture.
These may be sold directly to buyers based on prior orders or sold on the roadside
in urban centres as far afield as Johannesburg and Pretoria (Shabangu personal
communication). One income enhancement strategy adopted by carvers between
1993 and 2000 has been to diversify into furniture production. This move was
facilitated by connection to the electricity grid.Photo 1. Range of woodcraft products produced by Bushbuckridge hardwood
carvers (Photo by C.M. Shackleton)Amongst producer households an average of 75% of cash income is derived
from the sale of carvings and furniture. Other contributors to income include
state grants such as old age pensions and disability grants (which account for
most of the additional income), sales of products such as firewood, pottery,
medicine and thatch, and cash earned from ad hoc activities like farming,12SAwoodcarving.p65 214 22/12/2004, 11:05