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Joseph Chifamba elevates jewelry making with cow horns and bones

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Cow horns are often regarded as useless and unusable. At the slaughterhouse, they are often tossed aside as waste. However, a young Zimbabwean artist and entrepreneur found a good way to recycle and make profit off of these parts by making jewellery and other products.

History & Background

Born and raised in the Mashonaland East province of Murewa in 1980, Joseph did his primary education at Dombodzvuku Primary, his secondary education at Cherutombo High school then advanced level studies at Marondera High. He completed his tertiary education at the Zimbabwe Open University(ZOU) where he obtained a Media Studies honors Degree.

Over the years Chifamba rose from a ZBC Licence Inspector to a thriving self employed artist in 2006. His inspiration for the use of cow horns and bones came from a fellow church member who became his mentor and partner in business. The church member was selling handmade birds from cow horns and together they teamed up to sharpen their skills and grow their business. After a while they separated and Joseph began working single handedly on his own bringing innovation in his crafting skills until he reached a level of perfection.

Some of the challenges he faced earlier on was losing clients because his exhibits lacked the proper appeal since they were coming from an artist who was a beginner and self-taught.

“I was not fully skilled to work alone but my great interest pushed me. I remember one of my early clients who left me because she had found a “real artist” elsewhere”, he admitted.

Achievements and Impact on society

Despite these challenges he met, Chifamba soldiered on sharpening his craft and now he boasts of a well articulated catalogue of products far much different from the ones his mentor taught him. He continuously collects cow horns from various slaughterhouses and uses cutting disks to cut them and make different kinds of jewellery including; necklaces, earrings, bracelets, hair clips and other kitchen utensils from spoons to tea mugs.

Joseph’s work has attracted both the local and international space resulting in him being called to participate in summits and exhibitions. He participated in International Festival of Arts (HIFA), Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, South African Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Decoret Johannesburg, Bushfire Festival in Swaziland, Zambia Agricultural Show, Zambian Arts and Design Show, Durban 2010 FIFA World Cup and the China International Import Expo(CIIE).

Currently, Chifamba is in China for the China International Import Expo(CIIE) to showcase his products with the aim of attracting foreign investment and growing his market. He has managed to attract the Chinese market by crafting a massage tool used in the Chinese, “Gua Sha” massage which a medicinal technique that involves scraping the skin to improve blood circulation.

“We are hoping to get bigger orders that we can supply even after the show because at the show we will only be exhibiting samples”, he noted.

Chifamba has managed to put Zimbabwe on the global map through his unique use of cow horns and bones, creating local and foreign investment opportunities and empowering youths in believing, sharpening and expressing their ideas until they gain an audience. He has also trained various aspiring artists around Africa in the art of cow horn and bones jewellery making.

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