Help Jabu and Thembi Nala Through the Pandemic
Donation protected
THE SHORT OF IT
The Pandemic has completely undermined the income of traditional South African potters, Jabu and Thembi Nala. I'd like us to raise money to help them and their extended family.
SOME BACKGROUND
Many of you have met Jabu or Thembi. Perhaps you met them at a workshop at Mudflat in Somerville, MA. Or they helped you make a coiled pot at Native in Scituate. Maybe you were lucky to buy one of their pots at one of Cultural Survival's Bazaars. Maybe you just hung out with them at my house. If you were really lucky you saw them at the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe.
Jabu and Thembi are hard-working Zulu women who, like their mother and grandmother, have supported their families for generations through their pottery. Today they support an extended family of about 30 adults and children. Their grandmother Siphiwe made pots and sold them in the local market. Their mother Nesta started in the same tradition but her pots were so refined that they found their way into art galleries in the cities. Times change with each generation, and the Nalas have changed with it. There's virtually no local market for pottery in South Africa. Some pots are still made for ceremonial use, but the irony for a traditional potter is that the real market is international. That's always been hard for them. International travel is never easy and pots are not easy to schlep around the world. They did it because that's what they had to do, and wherever they went, they were more than happy to share their Zulu culture.
YOU CAN HELP
We have been blessed by their pottery and friendship. Now, because of COVID, they need our help. For the last year, they've had no way to sell their work. International travel is unsafe; craft fairs have been cancelled. Museum budgets are decimated, so they're unable to make purchases. (Yes, the Nalas have their work in a number of major museums.) You donations will be divided equally between the two sisters.
TO MAKE IT MORE EXCITING
Six names will be drawn from the list of donors to win one of the Nala pots below. Two more will win one of Ann Schunior's pot. They can be shipped anywhere in the continental US.
I heard someone say recently that tradition moves forward through friendship. Can we befriend the Nalas and help them though the pandemic?
PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY
PLEASE BE AWARE: When you donate, there will be a TIP JAR at the end. The tip goes to GOFUNDME, not the Nala's. If you don't wish to tip, set it to 'other'.
THANK YOU to Susan Bernstein for donating the pots for the drawing.
The Pandemic has completely undermined the income of traditional South African potters, Jabu and Thembi Nala. I'd like us to raise money to help them and their extended family.
SOME BACKGROUND
Many of you have met Jabu or Thembi. Perhaps you met them at a workshop at Mudflat in Somerville, MA. Or they helped you make a coiled pot at Native in Scituate. Maybe you were lucky to buy one of their pots at one of Cultural Survival's Bazaars. Maybe you just hung out with them at my house. If you were really lucky you saw them at the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe.
Jabu and Thembi are hard-working Zulu women who, like their mother and grandmother, have supported their families for generations through their pottery. Today they support an extended family of about 30 adults and children. Their grandmother Siphiwe made pots and sold them in the local market. Their mother Nesta started in the same tradition but her pots were so refined that they found their way into art galleries in the cities. Times change with each generation, and the Nalas have changed with it. There's virtually no local market for pottery in South Africa. Some pots are still made for ceremonial use, but the irony for a traditional potter is that the real market is international. That's always been hard for them. International travel is never easy and pots are not easy to schlep around the world. They did it because that's what they had to do, and wherever they went, they were more than happy to share their Zulu culture.
YOU CAN HELP
We have been blessed by their pottery and friendship. Now, because of COVID, they need our help. For the last year, they've had no way to sell their work. International travel is unsafe; craft fairs have been cancelled. Museum budgets are decimated, so they're unable to make purchases. (Yes, the Nalas have their work in a number of major museums.) You donations will be divided equally between the two sisters.
TO MAKE IT MORE EXCITING
Six names will be drawn from the list of donors to win one of the Nala pots below. Two more will win one of Ann Schunior's pot. They can be shipped anywhere in the continental US.
I heard someone say recently that tradition moves forward through friendship. Can we befriend the Nalas and help them though the pandemic?
PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY
PLEASE BE AWARE: When you donate, there will be a TIP JAR at the end. The tip goes to GOFUNDME, not the Nala's. If you don't wish to tip, set it to 'other'.
THANK YOU to Susan Bernstein for donating the pots for the drawing.
Organizer
Ann Schunior
Organizer
Randolph, MA