Gilly's Craftwork Business in Zambia
Gilly has a team of two local craftsmen, Ken and Tom. They work in Gilly's house each day, where she provides a cooked meal every lunchtime.
Their ethos is to create attractive, practical, durable, sustainable products that are unique and of a very high quality. All the products are handmade and so their appearance will undoubtedly vary between pieces, no two shall ever be the same.
They are constantly designing new products and asking for feedback from their French and UK retailers.
Being an ethical business we think it is only right and fair to know how much Tom and Ken are earning when making these pieces. They are paid per item finished, but the average income for Tom per month is GBP £100 – £150, and for Ken GBP £80 – £120 per month. The variation being that they work at different speeds, capabilities and work flexible hours to suit themselves and their families. For Zambian workers this is a good salary at their level.
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Poachers reform scheme
Not all the crafts are made from wire but for those that are, some of the wire and string used is from confiscated poachers snares, seized from Zambia National Park. This wire has a truly distinct look, in that it is thicker and slightly more rusted looking.
Gilly’s ultimate aim is to start a poacher’s reform scheme, whereby poachers will be trained to make these crafts to earn an income instead of ensnaring wild animals.
Obviously not all will want to reform or indeed be able to make the crafts, but by converting a small number to an alternative way of life will indeed mean the survival of a few more animals!
