Tumaini Festival grows from strength to strength
From 2014, Dzaleka Refuge Camp in Dowa has been a host to one of the unique art and cultural events globally, the Tumaini Festival. For the first time in years, the festival, which relies on crowdfunding, faced a possibility of being cancelled due to lack of funds. But after an SOS was sounded, the event proceeded and took place last weekend. Our Staff Reporter BRIAN ITAI caught up with director of the festival Menes La Plume. Excerpts.
Q
: How would you describe the eighth edition of the Tumaini Festival?
A
: Magical is what I can say. The festival had a different vibration there was love in the air. I saw many joyful faces, people sharing the same space to celebrate humanity regardless of their cultures, races or social backgrounds. The other magic I noticed was that despite the fuel crisis, people still travelled from every corner of Malawi to attend the festival. This has shown us that people love Tumaini Festival and own it.
Q
: What is the mode for executing the festival?
A
: I believe in the power of togetherness, transparency, and information sharing, which makes teamwork very easy. Once I have put a team in place, I ensure they have all the tools necessary to execute the festival, even if I am not around. Tumaini Festival is not a business, it is a free festival with no financial profits. We have a very small team. This year I was the only full-time staff dedicated to organising the festival, then I was joined by interns I had trained for the three months leading to the festival. By the festival time, our team of volunteers had grown to 200 people to make sure that the festival was executed smoothly. I believe in the power of collaboration and two weeks before the festival, I brought another festival professional and good friend of mine Annelies De Bruine from the Zomba City Festival, to come and support the team. I also called my good friend Tammy Mbendera from the Festival Institute to help co-manage the festival; as we always need new energy when it comes to execution.
Q
: Who funds the festival?
A
: Contrary to what many think, Tumaini Festival does not have a specific funder. Each year, we spend a lot of time and energy looking for funding. Our primary funding source is crowdfunding, a method we have been using since 2014, when the festival was established. Through crowdfunding, we use social media to approach our friends and friends of friends to make small contributions so we can finance the festival. Apart from crowdfunding, we also apply for grants every time we see an opportunity, but it doesn’t work all the time. This year we almost cancelled the festival due to lack of funding after making that announcement, our friends from the Global Centre for Pluralism in Canada and the BMW Foundation in Germany came front to the rescue of the festival. GIZ Malawi also came on board last minute to make it possible. Apart from these partners, we also received funding from Viva Con Agua, a foundation based in Austria. As you can see, most support for Tumaini Festival comes from outside Malawi; we do not get much financial support from inside Malawi.
Q
: Wasn’t the outcome this year lack of anticipation on your part?
A
: Running a free festival is not easy as a free and professionally organised festival such as Tumaini needs a lot of money to implement. We have worked so hard and have been consistent up to now, but this is not sustainable in the long run. We have been working on a sustainability plan that will be shared with the public in the near future.
Q
: Are there any plans to improve or change the way the festival is conducted?
A
: Tumaini is already one of the well-organised festivals in the country in many aspects. It is unique in terms of its location, diversity and the cause it stands for. Of course, there is much room for improvement as we aim to make Tumaini one of the biggest festivals on the continent, why not in the world? Tumaini is the first and only festival in the world to be held within a refuge camp. It has the potential to be a global phenomenon, and that is the direction we are taking it to.
Q
: How many people are behind the organisation of the festival apart from yourself?
A
: We have other full-time staff and some independent of the organisation. But we have twenty part-time interns and volunteers who worked with us as part of our core team over the past three months to make Tumaini an exceptionally executed festival this year. The plan is to have a team of a minimum of ten full-time staff members to reduce our workload. We shall start advertising for positions very soon.n
