We are staying at the Cosmo Zone guest house, a bed and breakfast in Bloemfontein that is owned and run by Sean Moodley’s wife. Sean ran the diversity workshop we attended in Durban with QASA. The accommodations are very nice and the breakfast is delicious.
Tuesday we spent visiting the economic empowerment initiatives in the Free State. We first visited the Botchabello workshop which was in a very poor area. The workers there make teddy bears for Barloworld, a car dealership chain, beaded key rings and bracelets, and piecework for manufacturing companies. They are paid by the amount of work they are doing and according to the specific contract they have. The bead workers get paid the least amount which averages at about R120 per month. This works out to be about $16 per month. We brainstormed ideas on how to pump up sales by thinking of retailers to contact and some new products they could make. We also made suggestions on how to clarify the payment scheme to the current workers as well as future workers. After this we sat down to have a try at making a beaded keychain. Annamarie and Eddie beaded a cross key chain. I unsurprisingly opted out of making a cross key chain and made the second option, a ball. Of course I quickly came to discover that the 3-dimensional ball was not quite as easy as the two-dimensional cross. After about two hours Annamarie and Eddie’s key chains looked like crosses and mine eventually resembled something similar to a ball. It gave us perspective on why there is a limit to the amount of production and money these workers can make because the work is tedious and time-consuming. Of course the workers were much quicker and better at the work than Annamarie, Eddie or I was. We then went to Kapano another one of the economic empowerment factories where they were doing piecework manufacturing electrical parts, assembling plastic flowers, and leather works including pillows and ottomans. We then met with Nthabesing to talk about sensitization in the workplace and watch the video she made to give in her presentations to employers. Wednesday we visited the Jean Webber home on the APD premises that houses people with physical disabilities some of whom work at the APD and other who work elsewhere. The home provides care attendants at all time of the day for the residents. We helped them to brainstorm ideas on how to manage care attendants with attitude and disciplinary problems.
