“Welcome my sister! Come, come, let me show you what I have to sell. Beads. Do you like beads? How about wooden animals, yes, these are nice? You like animals? How ‘bout bag, we have many. Look see, the bag matches shoes. You like shoes?”
I remember laughing profusely last week when Professor Layne and Professor Curry theatrically enacted a scene from an open-air market interaction in hopes of showcasing the “art” of bartering to our class. It was hilarious watching Professor Curry finagle a price down during the mock transaction, but what I failed to grasp at the time was that the exchange portrayed was indeed the kind presented during my many trips to the Greenmarket Square and others like it. It is intimidating to enter the market space, as vendors approach you the second you step within their peripheral vision. You are bombarded with dialogue, like that referenced above, and it can take multiple times of politely rejecting the offer before you simply have to walk away. It feels rude and uncomfortable, but the merchants can be overwhelming and apparently do not like to take “no thank you” as an answer. The items being sold appear to be unique to the area, handcrafted, and a true reflection of South African resources.
Growing up in a relatively small town, I have never experienced the thrill of walking through a flea market or purchasing from vendors on the side of the road while strolling down the streets of a large city. Where I come from, the dollar amount listed on the tag of an item is the price, and you either take it or leave it. It is as cut and dry as that. I have noticed that in South Africa however, the way in which goods are sold is a different story. We have seen and experienced firsthand the way in which locals of the area distribute goods and rely on a tourist economy to maintain their livelihood and support themselves and family. Yet, as I reflect back on my experiences of leaving a tent with an item that costs 500 Rand for 250, or achieving a 75% reduction in price, I began to think of the person on the other end of the transaction: the seller. He or she depends solely on the sale of the goods in their respective tent; it is because of this that their intensity to “close a deal” becomes that much greater.
Both my mother and father are professional artists (hence the search for the handmade clay whistle everywhere we go…). I have grown up surrounded by an artist community, and have come to appreciate the merit of local handicraft. One of the greatest thrills of being a tourist is the quest to find that perfect trinket to bring home as a remembrance of the times spent in a new area. A tourist to Naples, FL (my hometown) would expect to leave the city with an item crafted by a local with local goods, a tourist to China the same, and of course we all are looking to leave South Africa with an ornament or knick-knack of the same nature. When I was told that the majority of the goods I had purchased were most likely manufactured, yes manufactured in China, and not crafted by men of women of the area, I was shocked. While the items purchased are beautiful and seem to possess the qualities of what I would assume to be a hand-made object, I, along with countless other tourists, fell for the trap.
Greenmarket Square, an area over-loaded with vendors, has a history reflective of the region in which we have been studying. “At various times in history, Greenmarket Square Flea Market has been a slave market, a fruit and vegetable market and even a humble parking lot. Today this flea market in Cape Town is where a wide range of informal traders sell batiks, beadwork, sculptures and more (Visit Greenmarket Square, 2015).” We have studied in extensive detail, through discussion, videos, and a visit to the Slave Lodge, the hardships and oppression created by slavery. As learned in the museum, not only were indigenous tribes persecuted but Cape Town also became a hub in the slave trade, specifically for those of Indian and Middle-Eastern descent. The scars of slavery are still entrenched in the city, a true representation of the area’s rich, diverse, and intriguing history.
It has been presented in class multiple times that South Africa has an alarmingly high unemployment rate of 25.2%, and the hardships associated with extreme poverty are apparent on virtually every street corner. With that being said, why are the souvenirs found in the Greenmarket Square imported from China when local production of those items could offer a large job market for those in South Africa? “China became South Africa’s single-largest trading partner in 2009, but the trade balance has been in favour of China… (Ensor, 2014).” Furthermore, the Trade and Industry Minister of South Africa, Rob Davies stated, ‘“The composition of our bilateral trade remains a concern. Over 90% of South Africa’s top 10 exports to China are in raw materials while 100% of our top 10 imports from China are manufactured products (Ensor, 2014).”’ The people of South Africa are talented in a variety of ways: we have attended powerful theater productions, listened to the beautiful voices of both children at school and an adult congregation at church, and witnessed the painting of ceramics while visiting a township. If the local people were awarded the opportunity to make and sell their own goods, doesn’t it only make sense that the unemployment rate would drop, poverty would decrease, and there would be less dependence on foreign markets, only improving the South African economy overall?
South Africa is ultimately at the mercy of what the Chinese want to produce and sell by continually agreeing to import these items from China. Where is the creativeness, inventiveness, and uniqueness in that for the South African community? China decides what they think South African craft should be, therefore eliminating the true cultural and local touch tourists hope to inherit when buying a good. There is something about watching an artisan create in front of you, reinforcing the authenticity of the sale. However, when the same “rare stone bowl,” handmade paintings, or African masks can be found throughout the country, the originality and marketing technique begins to fail. As consumers, we should empower local artisans and craftsmen by paying the extra 30 or 40 Rand and buying the handcrafted goods. However, could this be done without being detrimental to the current vendors? It is apparent that many are not working independently, but rather for “their boss.” Who is this “boss,” and if a collaborative stand was made to only buy local goods, would the merchants be empowered to create their own work? While this would prove to be a complex undertaking, in a land that has already overcome so much, the independence and freedom derived from local production becomes that much more important.
References
Ensor, L. (2014, March 12). Bilateral trade with China on the increase. Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://www.bdlive.co.za
Visit Greenmarket Square for a truly African shopping adventure. (2015, January 1). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://www.southafrica.net
