224 The Pterocarpus angolensis DC. based woodcraft industry in the Bushbuckridge districtsuccess story (Steenkamp 1999b). Others suggest that products with more
‘cultural’ or ‘artistic’ significance should be encouraged. However, this usually
requires intrinsic artistic talent rather than just craftsmanship, thus benefiting
only a limited number of carvers. It is also a fickle market, prone to boom and
bust characteristics, as evidenced by the collapse of the Venda art market
even after many of the sculptors had attained international acclaim (Duncan
1999). New specialised, but less tourist-dependent, markets could also be
explored. For example, one restaurant in the Sabie area is furnished effectively
with locally produced P. angolensis furniture, and another is using salad bowls,
steak plates and pizza boards carved by home carvers. There is no reason why
this practice could not be extended to other parts of the country.
Whatever the way forward, Steenkamp (1999b) stresses that a specialised
marketing study needs to be conducted before any decisions are taken. Such
a study should take into account a long-term development framework for the
woodcraft industry, as well as any changes in production mode and strategy
that would accompany the targeting of new markets. Certainly, entering the
wholesale market presupposes increased organisational specialisation and co-
operation amongst producers, perhaps within a small factory situation—
something towards which carvers have demonstrated reluctance. Joint
partnerships with the private sector have also been suggested, and there are
examples within the basketry industry. Such an approach would provide the
capital injection to set up bulk production and provide a guaranteed market
for at least some products. In the end, it is likely that a mix of different
strategies and markets, suiting a range of producer needs and preferences,
would be most appropriate. It is important that what has been achieved so
far, mainly through the enterprise of producers themselves, not be ignored.
After all, the woodcraft trade has been able to provide one of the poorest
sectors of the Bushbuckridge community with a means of livelihood since the
early 1970s (Shackleton, S.E. 1993). From this perspective it is also critical
that any new development does not create unhealthy dependencies on
agencies, companies or products that may have short-term horizons or
unpredictable futures.Resource conservation
The impacts on key carving species, in particular P. angolensis, have been
substantial. A response to this situation in other parts of the world has been to
turn to propagation and cultivation. This strategy has been most successful in
the case of fast-growing softwood species. P. angolensis has, however, proven
extremely difficult to cultivate, and most attempts to grow it have met with
limited success throughout the southern African region (Vermeulen 1990). It is
also very slow growing. Cultivation is therefore unlikely to be a solution to the
wood supply problems for P. angolensis users. Instead substitute species, including
exotics, and alternative sources need to be identified. Better management of
the existing resource base is crucial, but highly complex. Carvers and furniture
makers are not the only users of communal woodlands, and different stakeholders
have variable and contended understandings of boundaries and de facto access
rights. Moreover, existing institutional and legal arrangements are confused,12SAwoodcarving.p65 224 22/12/2004, 11:05