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Zimbabwe Shona Stone Carvers - Meet the Fair Trade Artisans

These talented carvers work with a variety of natural stones in Zimbabwe, whose name means "House of Stone" in Shona. These stones include Semiprecious Verdite, Serpentine, Leopard Rock and Opal. ZImbabwe is a country with an unemployment rate of 75% and 18% of the population lives with HIV. Worldgoods works with Venture Imports to bring their products to U.S. consumers, adhering to Fair Trade principles and protection of cultural identity. Meet the individuals below!

Alfred Kudziburira has lived in Zimbabwe his whole life. He developed a passion for African Art in 1992, when he was still in school. He started carving his own pieces and selling them from various Zimbabwean markets. His pieces became very popular and soon he employed junior sculptors. He has exhibited in Australia and the United States. “We are honoured to have such kind people around the world willing to promote our works of art. Thank you for helping us help ourselves.”

Chenjerai Chiripanyanga is a professional artist working in Harare. He has participated in various exhibitions and won many prizes like the National Heritage Exhibition in 1992. His work has been sold to collectors all over the world. The subjects of Chiripanyanga's work are emotional, refreshing and sometimes political. He exhibited at The Hague, Netherlands in 1993.

Farai Walter Darare started working as a washer and polisher for his father’s sculptures when he was seven years old. He worked and studied under the reknowned Shona sculptors Chikumbirike, Runyanga, Muropa, and his father Casper Darare. The pieces he did with Casper have been exhibited in Southern Africa, Holland, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, and the United States of America. In 2000 he lost his father, but he has continued to create thought-provoking pieces. He specializes in abstract pieces which feature people with hands joinging to form flowing twists and arches symbolizing harmony and unity. “To you, all my buyers, I hope and believe you will enjoy my beautiful pieces."

Edgar Sahondo was born in Guruve on August 13, 1968. He did his primary education at Chakaodza primary School and secondary education at St. Francis Mission School. While still at St. Francis he was inspired by Bernard Matemera and started stone sculpting. When he completed his secondary education he joined Tengenege Sculpture Community for two years and came to Harare in 1990. He worked at Kentucky Airport Hotel from 1990 to 1993 before leaving to do full time sculpting. In 1996 he did an exhibition at Sandros Gallery in Harare and participated in a number of National Gallery annual exhibitions. In 1998 he had a one man exhibition in Cape Town. On July 15, 2001 he was featured in the Daily Mail showing off a piece called Protecting the Future.

Wisdom Zinyeka was born January 25, 1974 in the rural area of Gutuin Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. He learned to draw from his father, but in 1994 he moved to Harare to stay with his brother Gladman Zinyeka, a stone carver. During his stay in Harare he became interested in stone sculpturing. He started by finishing and polishing Gladman’s pieces. During his spare time he could take small chips of stones and make pieces like elephant abstracts and birds. The first piece that encouraged him to continue stone carving was a flower abstract made from fruit serpentine. It was bought by an art collector in the US. After 1996, Gladman’s customers started asking for Wisdom’s pieces. He struggled to source some money so that he could fetch his own big pieces of stone from mines to make larger pieces. In 2000 Gladman fell ill and died. In September, 2000, he was brought to the US to exhibit his work by Jeff Morris, the American who bought his first flower abstract. “Most of my pieces come from different things happening in the world that it might be about love, nature, historical events, and some modern things happening. My guide is art knows no age. You have to look at it the way it is.” In 2001 he exhibited in the US, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. In 2002, he exhibited in California, Texas, Florida, and Belgium.

Gardner Sango was born in 1966 in Guruve. He did his primary education in Guruve and secondary education at Howard High School in Chiweshe. The youngest of four children, he was taught stone sculpturing by his late brother Brighton Sango. He used to admire Brighton’s abstract figures and assisted him by finishing his pieces. In 1992 he started doing sculpturing full time. He sells to Chapungu Sculpture Park and private buyers from Europe, the United States, and Asia.

Support these artisans by buying their products in our fair trade store.