A FairJewely.Org Exclusive: An Interview with Lourens Maré, CEO of the Jewellery Council of South Africa.
Lourens discusses Vukani-Ubuntu, a Non-Profit Organization that trains people from rural townships into the commercial jewelry trade. Widely supported by government and private donors, this social entrepreneurial effort is one of the most concerted attempts to apply the fair trade principal of economic empowerment for the economically disadvantaged to the main stream jewelry world.
Lourens Mare’
One of the recent developments in South Africa is to keep more of the jewelry business within the country by increasing its manufacturing sector. One exciting project has managed to do this through the creation of a training facility that brings in poor people from townships and teaches them all phases of the jewelry trade, while encouraging entrepreneurship.
I caught up with Lourens Mare. At present, he is the CEO of the Jewellery Council of South Africa. He was also, along with Demos Takoulas, a member of Vukani-Ubuntu, a non-profit organization, empowering disadvantaged communities in South Africa.
FJ: You have created a wonderful model that trains economically disadvantaged people from townships into the jewelry trade. Let’s start with what year you were founded and how many people are involved in your program now?
Lourens: This started in 1999. I joined Demos Takoulas (current CEO) in late 1999. At that stage there was just one project—it was the first project of its kind in the country and the first entity to take gold legally into a township. That was not possible before. We did a lot of ground breaking at that stage. Now, there are 37 structures around including various other projects based on the original Vukani model. Granted there has been some improvements since 1999.
FJ: What does Vukani-Ubuntu mean?
Lourens: Vukani-Ubuntu literally translated means, “To wake up the sense of humanity” – in other words, calling into action the ‘sense of humanity’.
FJ: What is your structure?
Lourens: We set up a nonprofit organization, funded by government and private companies, that functions to fund as a training facility. This training facility has everything it needs, from machinery to faculty, to bring students into the trade. From this central facility, we have smaller companies that function under it in the hive system. Each of the little factories has access to the equipment from the larger factory, where more technical production elements can be assisted with.
In this environment, the rent of this small start up starts low and then grows as the business increases. He is still linked to the main facility with its expertise, so he can grow his own clientele around himself.
FJ: So, if I am understanding correctly, you take people into your training facility, teaching them the trade, while providing them all the support they need?
Lourens: Yes, and we nurture the businesses until they reach a certain size. Once he has grown to a sustainable level he has to leave the confines of the hive to make space for the next entrepreneur. He still retains the link to the central facility though.
We also have set up a company which sells what is produced in this factory. It is a very cooperative system that has QC in place to make sure that the product creates opportunity to grow business in this method and maintains the supporting infrastructure.
FJ: How do you transition them into real life bench experience?
Lourens: We do an exchange program going into the mass production factory in a mass production environment. They understand the environment and the pressures—this is to ensure that they get first-hand experience of the real manufacturing environment. Training is phase one and phase two is to sub-contract. For example, an order comes in for rings. A jeweler who has completed our program or is working with the program will cost it and send the cleaning and assembly to be done by the developing jewelers as an example.
You have the school where people are learning and not really doing production, and then you have people who have graduated, so to speak.
FJ: What are the numbers of each group?
Lourens: The numbers vary from project to project. At any given time you may have up to 30 learners per facility with up to 20 entrepreneurs.
FJ: Who gets to take part in your program?
Lourens: There is a limited amount of money, but anyone from the townships can apply. They go through testing for drawing ability, hand and eye coordination, mathematical skills and language ability. Based on the results, we select our top candidates—ten or twenty out of up to four hundred applicants. But it depends—it can be one out of forty or one out of ten. Unemployment is close to 40% in these townships. One of our trained workers can support 3 to 8 people off his income.
FJ: How are the students supported while they are in the program?
Lourens: Most of the learners receive a stipend as per the South African National regulations through the SETA’s (Sectoral Education & Training Authorities). They provide a list of minimum payments per level reached. In addition, the learners get the opportunity to assist in production and earn an additional income from that.
The more they progress, the more they can produce so their income is finally self-generated.
FJ: Can you give me an example of what one of your piece workers makes, compared to the average person in a township?
Lourens: This very much depends from person to person and which field in the industry they specialize in. As an example a person specializing in cleaning castings can on average earn up to R 4000 per month with someone working for a salary at the same level earning R 1500 – R2 500 per month.
FJ: But you also fabricate items from other companies, right? If I wanted something made, I could fax you a purchase order and be assured of its quality?
Lourens: In order to ensure that production is done up to an acceptable standard, we have started relationships with mass producers such as SA Manufacturing Jewellers. They not only support in terms of training and development but also provide sub-contract work while assisting to ensure that the product going out is up to QC standards.
So yes, you would be able to buy from the development groups.
FJ: One of the difficulties I have found working with international manufacturers is that they want to go deep instead of broad. For example, suppose I started a new line of jewelry and I wanted to order only twenty pieces of each design to start. This would be a small order. What is your sense of minimum numbers?
Lourens: With the reality of the South African manufacturing environment, it is very possible to accommodate smaller orders. Apart from the projects, the industry is largely made up of small producers with relatively high quality output. We also cater for the larger market though with mass production factories capable of the numbers required.
FJ: Suppose I wanted to order five kilos of hand woven sterling silver 4mm chain—an average hand woven chain. What is your labor price, approximately, above silver spot per gram?
Lourens: This is like asking how long is a piece of string. Chain is notoriously expensive to produce by hand compared to the mass production method, so my average price would probably not suit you well. The labor cost / gram would most likely work out close to $1 U.S. However, other items may be a much better entry, especially looking at cast items.
FJ: Do you have full casting and computer capacities?
Lourens: Not all the projects do, but the partnerships we have formed between the projects and industry make it possible.
FJ: How many small companies have started as a result of your program?
Lourens: Not that many, I would estimate +- 10 or so that have gone on their own. You must remember that the average period of training for entry level is 3-years. Add to that the additional time spent building up something and we have only really been up and running for 7 years.
FJ: Can you give me a range and an example of a successful company that has started as a result of your efforts?
Lourens: Well one example that immediately comes to mind is Busi. After her days with the Atteridgeville Project she started a small workshop in Mamelodi (a township just outside of Pretoria). She started by cleaning & repairing jewellery and later branched out to include a hair and beauty salon.
FJ: How many people are being trained and what do you do with all the jewelry produced in training situations?
Lourens: Because the guys are in a training environment and not a real manufacturing environment, the jewelry made is not commercially viable. Most of it is either melted down to have material for the next group or if acceptable, sold to the flea-markets or hawkers.
FJ: Is your goal only to train production jewelers?
Lourens: Once you have done mass production, a jeweler has another level where you can go higher into design. They can explore whatever next discipline you want to get into.
FJ: What has been your level of success with marketing the product?
Lourens: That has been the hassle with us, to get sufficient market for the product. But we work with a private company. As mentioned we have set up a hybrid situation, working with established jewelry manufacturers that have viable mass production capacities which utilize us as a resource. Eventually, once a jeweler is solid in his skills, as I said, he breaks away from us and starts his own company. They can still subcontract to the factory. In the process they are learning everything about the business. In the meantime, the money generated goes to development of training and the jeweller.
FJ: What have been the challenges?
Lourens: The problems have been in the operating costs. Keeping the central system functioning, paying the staff, running the projects and assisting and training all these guys, to be able to do this, the gas for the car, for example. That is the one place where we are low on funds. Our support network does not want to fund our general administrative expenses.
FJ: Please give me a list of what you can produce, and let me know how someone interested in supporting your project might go about working with you.
Lourens: We will be able to produce just about anything you can find anywhere else in the industry. Obviously, not the kind of quality you would find in Tiffany’s or the like, but reasonable mid range jewellery.
For more information on all the different development initiatives and how to support them or order from them, please contact me by sending an e-mail to:LourensM@Jewellery.org.za
Assistance in the form of grants is welcome as well.
