Authentic Shona Stone sculptures from Zimbabwe

About the Founder

My name is Rosemary Chimbganda, the founder of African Authentics. I was born and raised in Zimbabwe and graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a Bachelor of Economics degree before I moved to Boston where I currently reside. I worked as a software engineer In Boston Massachusetts for many years during which I founded African Authentics as a side hustle. I have since made everything Shona Art my life focus.

I happen to belong to the Shona tribe to whom the Shona artform is attributed. I travel to Zimbabwe every two years to interact with the artisans and purchase new pieces. I occasionally get invited to speak about Shona art and sadza batik.

Shona Art

Celebrating Zimbabwe’s Artisans

Shona Stone sculpture derives its name from the name of the tribe in Zimbabwe to which most of the artisans that craft the sculptures belong. The Shona tribe make up about 80% of the Zimbabwe population while the Ndebele population is about 14% of the population.

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Beaded Animals

African Authentics established a cooperative of beaded wire artisans in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. The group comprises of about 30 men and women. The unemployment rate in the formal sector of Zimbabwe hovers around 70% so this development was a big economic relief to the members, some of whom are climate change refugees from villages where they can nolonger farm their small plots of land due to the unpredictability of the rainfall season.