This is a good idea in principle, but I am not sure it will work in reality and mainly for two reasons: what people can make doesn't often match the quality or design what people want, and there is often no trust and skill to build a viable business. A few practical examples:
- I was in the Eastern Cape where there are plenty of women who make and sell craft. I was excited at the thought to purchase directly from the artisans and contribute to their economy. However, I found that every single person made the same exact thing, in the same way, with the same shapes and colours. So basically, if you don't like the merchandise of one seller, you automatically don't like any of the others.
- I worked with a few dozen smallholder sugarcane farmers in KZN. Besides cane (which is the cash crop) they grow food as well (garlic, potatoes, maize, etc). They sell their food to Durban traders, who come in with the bakkie and buy up everything....continues in next comment