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Paula Goosen, Product Owner
 


Jabulani Jewellery

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ZULU beadwork is amongst the most beautiful in Africa. It is intricate and colourful and tells stories that are generations, even centuries, old.

Jewellery has always been an abiding passion of Paula Goosen and, when she travelled overseas, she often visited jewellery stores and exhibitions. Surely, she believed, there was an international market for the stunning beadwork of her native province? Paula was born and bred in KwaZulu-Natal, the province of the Zulu and is a fluent isiZulu speaker.
After she returned to Durban 20 years ago, Paula came to create a business, Jabulani Jewellery, that today produces some of the most beautiful, sought-after pieces of high-end beaded jewellery to come out of South Africa. 

Paula tweaks traditional Zulu beadwork skills to produce pieces that are true to their ethnic roots while being fresh, contemporary and always in demand.  As well as being the creative brains behind the designs, Paula travels the world finding buyers, orders and markets. 
Jabulani’s products  – which include necklaces, earrings, chokers, bracelets, bangles and wall hangings – are made by 120 people, most of them women and all of them living in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Depending on demand, as many as 200 people are employed. The people who create the jewellery have skills learnt from their mothers and grandmothers. Without the market opportunities created by Jabulani, these skills would be in danger of dying out – and most of the beaders would have no other income.

Ann Williams, general manager of Jabulani, explains that the beaders, many of them based in rural Ndwedwe north of Durban, travel to the business’s offices every fortnight to deliver their finished work and, when there are new orders, to be briefed on these. The order is discussed and the precise requirements agreed, including particular design elements, materials and colours. The beaders buy their own beads and set to work, knowing that they must adhere to a strict deadline – and Jabulani’s equally strict quality standards.

The beaders appreciate the opportunities that Jabulani (the name means “to rejoice”) creates for them. In Ndwedwe poverty and unemployment are rife and the area is plagued by HIV/Aids. Most of the beaders are poorly educated (if at all) but they have skills and, thanks to Jabulani, are able to use those skills to put food on the table and pay for school uniforms. Many beaders have worked with Paula for more than a decade, according to Ann, who recalls one man who took up the work his late mother had been doing. 

Zulu beadwork typically only uses tiny round beads, often to tell a story, as in the case of the ivovo necklace, a traditional design which uses different materials to depict the process of straining liquid to produce sorghum beer. Most beads used in Jabulani creations are manufactured in the Czech Republic but Paula also weaves into her designs accessories including freshwater pearls, crystals, gemstones and felt beads. Jabulani uses top quality nylon cotton and tiger tail (a very fine, specialised jewellery wire) and all findings (hooks, clasps etc) are nickel-free.

Customers have a great variety of pieces to choose from and the business is always willing to create products in whatever colours a client may choose.
The process of interacting with rural producers, bringing their work to the attention of potential buyers, securing orders and then actually shipping the goods to customers, wherever in the world they may be, in tip top condition, is a major logistical operation that is carried out by Jabulani’s nine full-time staff who work just a stone’s throw away Durban’s imposing 2010 football World Cup stadium.

Jabulani’s strict adherence to the most ethical business standards has been recognised by the organisation, Co-operation for Fair Trade in Africa, and the business has undergone several thorough social audits carried out by major clients.

Marketing Jabulani and its jewellery is a constant priority. Without awareness, there would be no orders and without orders, there would be no work for Jabulani’s staff and the up to 200 people who rely on them. Jabulani markets – and sells – through its website and regularly attends trade shows in South Africa and abroad. TEP, Ann says, has helped Jabulani with marketing materials and in attending the all-important trade shows.

www.jabulanijewellery.co.za
 
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