The Political Potter

Here we are in Ihimwa village in Dodoma, Tanzania. Locating potter’s is like a scavenger hunt. The best way to approach it is to go to the market and locate some pots and then ask people where they’re made. And then the next step is to find a driver who can take you to that location. Once you get close to the location, you start asking local people if they know of any potter’s and they always do. It’s a lot of fun to find the potter‘s way out in the village, but it’s important to be considerate and respectful of anyone. Space. Approach it the same way that you would entering into someone else’s studio in the United States unannounced. I always ask before I film and I always talk and the best I can’t even in the local language, Gogo because people laugh and they really love it when you try to communicate with them. What I do and know what I’ve always done anywhere that I go is essentially not only by pots from the potter‘s that I visit but give them some money after I take their time from them. Now I’m sure that there’s plenty of people who would argue that but I’ve lived a long time in Tanzania and I know that it’s respectful if you take someone’s time then to get back to them and that goes for any situation because people just don’t have a lot of time or money. So it’s always a nice gesture to give someone something and also buy their pots.#oakcliffpottery #dodomatanzania #tanzanianpotters #wildclay #village