Cape Craft & Design Institute

The Cape Craft & Design Institute (CCDI) was set up in 2001 to promote and grow craft as an economic sector in the Western Cape province of South Africa. A Section 21 not-for-profit company, the CCDI is a joint initiative of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The CCDI has also been adopted by the dti as a model Craft Hub, to serve as a template for the establishment of other similar craft institutes in the other provinces of South Africa.

About 40000 people work in the craft sector in South Africa and contribute R2 billion a year to the economy. Crafters range from the lone roadside wire artist to the hundreds of women making beadwork for a non-profit project or the potter who runs a well-equipped studio producing high-value items. For thousands of poor people in the Western Cape, craft is an entry point into the mainstream economy. Yet these crafters often do not know how to market their goods, raise bank loans or improve their skills and products. With this in mind, the provincial government commissioned a research study of the craft sector in 2000. The result was a recommendation to set up an institute to develop Cape Craft.

The CCDI's seven programmes support crafters and network all players in the product-to-market chain. This includes craft retailers, national chains, marketing agents, exporters and service providers such as designers, product developers, skills trainers, business development practitioners and mentors. Government and other funders form a vital part of this effort to build relationships across sectors.