Irene Market promotes ‘buy local’ after Covid-19 financial knock
“It would be nice for tourist to come back at full force to come and boost us, so we can afford material for our crafts.”
Some 31 years later and the handmade arts and crafts Irene Village Market, held at the Big Red Barn in Centurion on Saturdays, is still going strong.
“Since the easing of lockdown regulations and the reopening of the market, attendance has been good,” said market spokesperson Madie Oosthuizen.
“People want to go out again.”
Oosthuizen said their market is the perfect place to relax and escape the bustle of city life as it provides a great outdoor experience, near a 20-acre Eucalyptus forest, with live music, local produce and locally produced arts and crafts products.
READ MORE: Park Acoustics, happy to be back on top of meeting spot
She said their market was also quite unique as its mission was to provide a marketplace for local artists and home entrepreneurs.
“We take this mission very serious. That is why the market is only on the first and last Saturday of each month. Artists should not be pressured to mass-produce as this would detract from quality.
“Our market is out in the open and we managed to create social distancing and adhere to Covid-19 regulations quite well,” she said.
Oosthuizen said reopening the market was not without its challenges.
“We and the vendors here did not have an income at all while it was closed.
“Some vendors are really living from hand-to-mouth and the lockdown hit them and the market quite hard.”
Vendor Donald Masiya, of Masiya Crafters, said he encountered many challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Business has been slow as most of my clients were tourists visiting the market.”
“It would be nice for tourists to come back at full force to come and boost us, so we can afford material for our crafts; however, for survival sake we are making what we can.”
Vendor David Avierinos, of Suricat’s Journals, said they created leather journals and various other books.
“My wife and I make these journals ourselves. It can take three to eight hours per journal.”
He said while the lockdown also hit them hard, they were able to sell a few journals during the period.
“Since the opening of the market, business has improved as people are coming out in numbers and spending money.”
He said they were only able to keep afloat with the job he has.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
