GRASS ROOTS
Gone Rural – Swaziland
How weaving grass is helping AIDS-stricken families in Swaziland
Swaziland is a country with a HIV infection rate approaching 50 per cent of its population of 1.1 million people. Many male breadwinners have died or gone to South Africa in search of work. The burden of supporting families falls to mothers and grandmothers. The Gone Rural handicrafts business was started by English expatriate Jennifer Thorne to provide a sustainable income for 700 women and their dependents – an average of seven for each woman. Gone Rural's success enables it to employ a staff of 18 women and four men at its workshop in Malkerns. For nearly 3 out of 4 women working for the outsourcing enterprise, Gone Rural is the only chance of a cash income. The handicrafts themselves are mainly woven goods made from the robust lutindzi mountain grass. Gone Rural has now established a niche in the domestic market, helping to turn back a tide of bootleg ‘Swazi' handicrafts imported from other African countries. Gone Rural's business ethos goes well beyond being an outsourcing enterprise: it also provides AIDS education and advice on market gardening to help the women supplement the family income.
