#Choma Museum

[both-sides-of-the-zambezi]

Esnart Mweemba talks about ilala crafts

Esnart Mweemba is an artist, researcher, crafts producer, crafts expert and trader from Choma Southern Province of Zambia. For many years she worked for Choma Museum as a crafts development officer, training hundreds of men and women in traditional crafts like Tonga Basket weaving with the leaf of the ilala palm. 

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Esnart Mweemba at the yard of her farm in Harmony near Choma with various hand-woven structures 2018

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In the present interview with Esnart from 2016, we focus on the ilala crafts in particular; this in fact was due to our work in Binga at the time, an oral history, training and radio project with the women of Zubo Trust. I had come to Zambia for a couple of days, and at the morning of the interview recording, was about to cross the border back to Binga Zimbabwe. I had brought along as a little gift for Esnart, one of the ilala bags by Zubo women; and this is one of the subjects discussed here in conversation. We are comparing the bag produced by Zubo with some other ilala bags, we happen to have at hand. The interview is thus in parts particularly addressed to the Zubo women, as Esnart’s feedback, knowledge sharing and solidarity message to the women in the Zambezi valley.

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The starting point of our conversation is a national “training the trainers” projects by the Ministry of Tourism in Zambia at the time. The ministry contracted Esnart Mweemba and Agness Buya Yombwe as experts to run and oversee crafts training across all the country's provinces over two years; I was curious hearing a little more about the still ongoing project from Esnart herself.

For an interview, that features the vast variety of Esnart’s cultural expertise, please see/ hear her 2012 interview

Here an excerpt from Esnart’s 2012 interview in beautiful remix by UK artist Felicity Ford aka Knitsonic:

FelicityVFord · They don't know about the beads

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Esnart's Bio:

My name is Esnart Mweemba. I am 62 years old; a self-taught artist, crafts maker, trainer and researcher living in Choma District, Zambia. Textile arts (batik, tapestry, tie and dye) are my discipline; I also paint, produce prints, practice weaving with Malala (palm leaves) and beadwork. Weaving and beats are traditional Tonga crafts; now even globally renowned. I’ve done community research on Tonga culture; and assisted in the production of a number of CD compilations of Kankobela music (thumb-piano). When I grew up, it was my mother who taught me basket-weaving in the Tonga tradition. As an artist, I feel it’s important for me to care about this traditional knowledge of my people and continue develop its practice together with my community. Crafts-making is a way to empower communities with skills that may generate income and jobs. I train product development, and capacitate makers in developing new ideas and products. From 1995-2007, I was the Crafts Manager and Crafts Development Officer at Choma Museum and Crafts Centre (CMCC), trained hundreds of people in the district, organized crafts competitions and assisted in the production of exhibitions. In 2014, I facilitated a series of nationwide workshops in “crafts, design, production and quality enhancement” under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Arts in Zambia. I’ve trained support groups of various counseling organisations in crafts, and worked with orphans, vulnerable children and in HIV affected households. In 1993, I took part in the first national workshop for female artists at Henry Tayeli Gallery Lusaka. Since then, I have participated in many art exhibitions, festivals, study tours and workshops in Zambia and abroad. At the beginning of my working life, I worked in the local government department of agriculture. Today, next to family, arts and crafts, I am pursuing agriculture on my own land.

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Some further Links:

Lechwe Trust, my name is listed among the collection artists: https://www.lechwetrust.org

"Women in Art” exhibition at Choma Museum 2013

Here an example of my involvement in community research on Tonga music with CMBaird; my vital assistance for the productions is directly mentioned.

My personal FB profile

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Esnart Mweemba's tapestry work “Pregnant Baobab” is in the collection of Lechwe Trust in Lusaka and was shown at the opening of the new gallery in December 2018

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