Document: KwaZulu-Natal Integrated Craft Hub Business Plan 2009

Over 30,000 people work in the craft sector in South Africa and contribute R2 billion a year to the economy. Verifiable data on craft sector sales and producers in South Africa is limited, and often contradictory – all the more so in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where crafters and small craft businesses are often scattered and located in rural areas. The table below sets out extrapolated sector data, which shows that although the number of active full time craft producers in KZN (9374) represents 29.7% of the national total, actual sales represent only 13% of the national total, with craft producer income a corresponding 13% of the national total.

 

This suggests that the province has abundant human capital available in terms of craft skills, but that the sector is significantly under-performing, and is not obtaining an acceptable return on that capital. There is, therefore, great potential to develop the sector in order to improve both the competitive offering and the livelihoods of crafters.