Looking Forward to Buying Day

Marea during Buying Day in Ghanzi (Circ - 2003)

I have been emersed in the new project which will be announced on Thursday, August 6. It's been announced, talked about, planned, plotted and presented in various forms and stages, but none of them seems real...yet.

I have stood in the actual building and could easily envision myself there. Feel the presence of the other members. See the light bouncing off the canvases, hear the chatter, smell the coffee roasting from the floor below. It'll be a joyful space.

I fantasize about the established artists coming in at all hours of the day and night, when inspiration moves them. I picture the young mentees, eager to get to work on the new sewing project, anxious to finish the 100 earrings in time for the deadline, the glee when given a check in payment for doing something they love.

I want to surround myself in this every day.

When we lived in Botswana and I worked as a consultant at Ghanzi Craft. I looked forward to being in the office. The coolness of the quiet before the day began. The firing up of the computers, flicking on the lights, and slowly and steadily, the staff filtering into the space. Someone was sweeping the yard. Someone was using nail clippers to begin to make ostrich eggshell beads. Someone was finishing off a strand, scraping the polishing stone over the row of unevenly stacked eggshell that would soon be called beads. I loved the feeling of potential. I loved being surrounded by purpose. I loved being part of the flow of creativity.

I have missed that.

Almost nine years ago, we were living in Ghanzi and today would have been "Buying Day". That's when the San Bushmen knew they could sell their crafts for cash. They lined up outside of the store, catching up with this one, spotting that one, gossiping about her, ignoring him. It was a day of excitement and high energy. At least it would start that way.

It was good to get there early because you were sure to sell something. The ones at the end of the line, it didn't matter if they were the best at their craft, if the nonprofit ran out of funds, you were out of luck. The first few were always the lucky ones. If their bracelets were half decent, they would be able to sell them. The staff were still full of themselves, still looking forward to the day and generous. By lunch time, you didn't know how they would be. If they needed their afternoon nap, if they were too hungry for lunch to concentrate, if the ones in front of you were not nice or didn't make the jewelry properly, or Becky realized no one made the copper bracelets that was ordered by the store in Capetown, then you were out of luck, my friend. Doesn't matter how good a beader you are. You were going to get scolded, money shorted, get told to leave and not come back.

Buying day was my favorite day.

And I am going to have them again.

This center, this Centre for Women's Work will have days where artisans bring items they've made and we have marketed. We will wholesale the products, distribute the jewelry, bring income to the City of Poughkeepsie. Ghanzi was a small town of 1500 people, whereas Poughkeepsie has 50,000, but both are remote in their own ways. And both have a population looking for employment/income.