Master weaver Tivane Mavuma has over the years transferred his knowledge to scores of apprentices who today form the backbone of one of the biggest industries in all of Barrydale.
He’s a wise man who is respected by his fellow team members at Barrydale Hand Weavers and is celebrating his 15th year of producing world-class hand-woven products from various locations in this Klein Karoo village.
“Tivane is the continuity in the business and after 15 years it is by no means the end,” said owner Arran Bastable.
“While this is his 15th year in Barrydale, his passion for weaving started almost 40 years ago and even today, his eyes light up like a kid in a sweets shop when we purchase a second-hand loom and the owner decides to make the extra pieces of yard or off cuts part of the deal.”
This excitement stems from the fact that, once he has done his weaving at the factory during a normal day, Tivane goes home, has his dinner and he weaves some more.
Arran described him as a practical, hands-on guy who understands the intricacies of weaving and the maintenance/repair of old looms better than anyone else.
“Never has there been a situation where he said he cannot do it, he is truly an engineer. He is ingenious in the ways he comes up with solutions, plus he is a stand-out human on top of all that.
A master weaver is also an honourable man who gives credit where it is due.
“Carol Morris poured a lot of passion into this business,” Tivane said of the founder of this vibrant business.
“She worked very hard to ensure that the business grew and all my children could go to school because of Carol. I will never forget this and I’m very grateful for what she has done.”
From humble beginnings in the Karoo Art Hotel’s Belanti Hall in 2007 where Carol and Tivane set up the first two looms, the business evolved into an internationally recognised brand that has no less than 30 employees on its books.
Carol, who has since focussed all her attention on her Mud Gallery on Route 62, sold the business to Arran and Kate Bastable in 2019. With Tivane still on board, they have made it their mission to ensure that even more Barrydale families have futures.
While the Weavers were registered in 2007, it started in 1987 when Carol sent Tivane her first design. He still remembers how she introduced him to a new style (or pattern) and new cotton.
Then only a 22-year-old farmworker, Tivane used to spend his nights working on these ideas and, under the guidance of his mentor Rudi Bergman who introduced him to the craft, he would mail his samples to Carol who lived more than 2000km away at the time.
Many years of working remotely passed before the opportunity to start a commercial business became even remotely plausible.
Carol saved Tivane from a dire situation in Gauteng at the time and despite Barrydale being a predominantly Afrikaans community, he insisted on moving and soon became a loved local.
“I wrote a letter to Carol and she was worried that I could not speak Afrikaans, but it all worked out well in the end.”
“When I first got here, it was almost just the Magpie Boys here, the town was quiet,” the master weaver recalls.
Tivane recalls that the only other major movement was at the Bistro Blues steakhouse which is still to this day one of the town’s favourite watering holes.
Through Carol’s vigorous marketing and miles upon miles between flea markets on the weekends, the business expanded and bigger premises were needed. They first moved to the old Water Court (currently under construction next to the Country Pumpkin) before they took occupancy of the building which is now The Makers’ Brew.
The final move in Carol’s era was to the Padkamp where the weavers would conduct their business until they relocated to the Joseph Barry Distillery at the entrance of town in 2021.
It is safe to stay that this is where the Barrydale Hand Weavers will stay unless of course, the massive cellar gets too small for them.
