Dzimbanhete Arts and Culture Interactions Trust

DACIT

Dzimbanhete Arts and Culture Interactions Trust is an arts and culture resource center, that prioritizes heritage preservation by promoting, enabling and giving space to endeavors, which strongly articulate traditional oral and material culture.

Location

DACIT is situated along Bulawayo road, some 25km outside Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, almost hidden away from the highway, amidst massive rocks, away from all urban and city disturbances rendering it an ideal venue for artistic and cultural endeavors.

Background

Since its inception in 2008, DACIT has offered such services as creative skills training, cultural residency programs, cultural exchanges, consultancy services in the field of culture, provided artists with showcasing space including workshops for professional, aspiring visual artists and the local community through outreach programs. DACIT has hosted theater workshops and performances and provided filmmakers with filming sites. Dzimbanhete Arts and Culture Interactions Trust boast of having mentored 4 artists who have become internationally renowned in the art world. DACIT also engageS in humanities projects supporting the local Somerby Farm community. DACIT works with schools, in the region -assisting them in approaching and dealing with arts and culture. Dzimbanhete Arts and Culture Interactions Trust is registered with the National Arts Council and also as a Trust.

Aims and objectives,2017-2020

In the next 5 years DACIT endeavors to advance our experiences by widening and increasing the number of our activities while inviting more income generating programs and consistent research partnerships/networks that will add value at the same time increasing professionalism in all faculties of the village.

To advance of our international recognition through constant branding,
To advance informative and interactive programs that, involve communities from different regions on the continent.
To increase participation in national and international collaborations with heritage and cultural institutions
To design attractive and competitive programs which increase our revenue collection.

Projects

ALL AFRIKA VILLAGE

Dzimbanhete Arts and Culture Interactions Trust has been working towards the establishment of an All Afrika Village; a thematic park, with village structures that are representative of all the Afrikan nations’ significant architectural styles. These villages are intended to cater for material culture and artistic displays, cultural interactions and heritage discourse. DACIT believeS that this village will be a powerful business model and a springboard for many other business possibilities, particularly in the recreation, tourism, heritage, and cultural industries among others.

Project Description

This village will be characterized by 54 villages, layed out on a 12-hectare piece of land. Each village, with an average of 2/3 structures will be on a 2000 square meters area. The layout of the whole project will have it such that the village of each country will be located on approximately the exact spot as it is on the map of the continent. Each village will further be adorned with its material culture. Well, lit pathways connecting each village will allow easy access from one end of the continent to another. Three amphitheaters, restaurants, and gift shops will also compliment this village.

All Afrika Village

Why this Project

There is a need for Afrikan traditional cultures to have a platform where they are made accessible collectively, celebrated, discussed and documented, with a view to encouraging discourse and exchanges that will, in turn, build bridges for unity, tolerance, and appreciation. The very inception of this project is indeed a celebration of Afrikan architecture as the home for indigenous cultures and knowledge systems, a subject that is becoming more and more attractive the world over. Tourism has since become more culture-based than safari and the idea of creating a one-stop center with all the various cultures cannot be overemphasized more so as a recreational, scholarly tourist attraction.

Objectives

To establish a one-stop All Afrika Indigenous Village
To create a culture based business model
To encourage inter-cultural interactions and appreciation among Afrikans
To increase discourse and appreciation of African cultural values and knowledge systems including tangible and intangible heritage.
To showcase African indigenous culture in its highest and widest conception
To promote African cultural industries
To create a culturally unique destination for culture-based tourism
To generate employment and reduce poverty.

The impact of the village

Having 54 Afrikan villages in one place will mean that, this village will be the one and only such feature in the whole world and that alone will make it a major world attraction.
This village will be a permanent entity, commanding social and educational, cultural and recreational attention year in-year out, thereby attracting lots of traffic and impacting the tourism industry in a very big way.
This village will be a center for all Afrikan cultures, thereby creating a platform for a common cultural understanding on the continent.
This village will be the biggest one-stop interactive center for indigenous Afrikan cultures where they will be discussed within settings which are conducive and more natural
For Afrikan countries/cultures actively represented, this will become a generic culture center and a window for all tourist, scholars and cultural enthusiasts to further want to visit those countries.

Activities at the village

At any given time, each village would be occupied by invited guests from the respective country, staying there for a substantial number of days while sharing their ways, showcasing their food, attire, crafts, stories and all that matters to them as a people.
A festival of culture will be organized bi-annually, (Festival of Afrikan Cultures) whereby countries will be invited to showcase their material culture and where possible bring in an authority on their culture and a group that will act out their village life.
Embassies will be invited to hold their National days at their respective villages.
Afrika day (May 25), Day of the Afrikan Child (June 16), Culture week (March) and many other Afrikan special days will have programs run at the village.
Tours will be given daily to visitors
Restaurants serving foods from various countries will constantly have access to showcase their art of cooking, through indigenous food fairs.
Cultural camps for visitors will be designed and held at respective villages.
Cultural information will be documented and collected during all activities