Defying the scorching sun that beats down over Ghetto, an 82-year-old pensioner happily wonders the second city’s streets selling his hand-made traditional baskets.
The ravages of time have taken their toll on Decker Raffle: wrinkles dominate his weather-beaten face, gaps of missing teeth line his gums and he doesn’t hear well.
His hands, however, remain nimble and strong, as reliable as the day, 70 years ago, when he first started weaving baskets by the roadside in Zimbabwe.
Indeed, it is not the Zezuru elder’s frail body that catches Voice Money’s eye but rather his cheery, child-like spirit and the quality product he sells.
The Bluetown-based basket weaver was just 13 when he picked up the talent that would sustain him for a lifetime.
“I learnt the art of weaving when I was in Rhodesia, the country they now call Zimbabwe, in 1954. I used to watch people weave; I’d try copy what they were doing and they’d give me tips on how to improve. Weavers used to sit and do their baskets between Mutare and Harare, so I made sure that every morning I woke up early to go watch them work,” Raffle remembers with impressive clarity.
Like many members of the Zezuru tribe back then, Raffle did not attend school, his father preferring he become skilled with his hands instead.
“That same year [1954], I grasped the concept of basket making. I made two beautiful fruits baskets and sold them to a white man who paid me ten Bobos. I was so excited; I remember boarding a bus with stairs going to Salisbury [Harare] to buy myself two khakhi shorts with the pennies I got from the white man,” reveals the father-of-eight, the long-ago memory still causing him to smile.
Two years later, Raffle and his family relocated to Francistown’s Bluetown location, where he has been living ever since.
“When we came to Botswana, I decided to take basket-weaving seriously. We stay close to the river, which is full of the reeds I use for the baskets – so it is easy to collect them.”
As well as the fruit baskets that led to his very first sale all those years ago, the master-craftsman makes: dog baskets, shopping baskets and washing baskets.
“When the reeds are ready, I harvest them and dry them out, before cutting them into strands. The reed I use is soft, strong and lasts for a long time. I start each basket by making a flat surface, weaving the reeds over and over together. Then I coil with more reeds and tie with a wire, to make it firm,” narrates Raffle, who averages four baskets a day, his wares ranging between P40 and P250, the price dependent on shape and size.
Describing his baskets as environmentally-friendly, cost effective, and a perfect birthday present, the old man adds, “I advise people to buy these baskets not for me to make money but for them to save their money. When they buy a shopping basket they won’t need to pay for plastics. A basket keeps their goods safely as it cannot tear when they walk around. Walking in town with a shopping basket on its own is classy – it is a fashion statement for women; sometimes I paint the baskets in gold to enhance their beauty.”
Just like in 1954, Raffle reveals his main customers are still ‘makgowa’, while sales peak at month end.
“I managed to take my children to school and make a better living for them from the basket money,” he tells Voice Money.
For the first time since the interview began, Raffle’s jolly demeanor fades slightly when he reveals none of his children have followed in his footsteps.
“I just got unlucky that they did not take after me in weaving. At least they learnt how to make rubber mats, iron buckets and basins. I like culture so working with reeds takes me back to the old days. Weaving needs a keen eye for details, patience and creativity. Apart from making money, it keeps my mind busy,” concludes the granddad, his grin firmly in place again.