Love Zimbabwe
Martha Musonza Holman was born in Zimbabwe in 1971. Although she trained as a teacher, when she separated from her husband and was left to bring up her two young sons, her salary was no longer enough to live on. Martha started to travel to neighbouring countries buying and selling arts and crafts.
She met Samara Hawthorn at a Rainbow Gathering in Zimbabwe where she was selling printed t-shirts and batik wall hangings. Samara offered her the opportunity to come to the UK and set up a small business.
The two set up Love Zimbabwe, a co-operative which imports arts and crafts from Zimbabwe which it sells at markets and fairs across the UK. Love Zimbabwe is a non profit organisation aimed at empowering people to support themselves and be self-sufficient. It works on the principles of fair-trade which means that the people making the products receive a fair price for what they make. The organisation aims to create employment in rural areas and encourages people to make competitive crafts that can be sold throughout the world.
Love Zimbabwe promotes village projects and different artists from Africa. Products range from hand painted batiks, ceramics, wooden crafts and sisal cactus products. Martha (who lives in Abergavenny) and Samara (who lives near Carmarthen), sell at markets and fairs across the UK as well as through their on-line shop. They also sell through London City companies such as British American Tobacco , HSBC, Dresdner, Pfizer,The Royal Opera House, and The Deutsche Bank.
25% of Love Zimbabwe’s takings goes to sponsor village projects and education. For example, one project based in Marondera, East of Harare, aims to train school leavers to paint batik, whilst the project leader , batik artist Timothy Mandikuvaza, is paid an income to support his family.
