Three Shanga team members recently participated in a four-day workshop to learn the fundamental principles of photography including composition, lighting and camera settings, as well as post-production editing. The team, which included Calvin, Jackson and George, focused on three main photographic subjects - glass products, textiles and faces - utilizing donated cameras and a second-hand laptop. Local conservation and documentary photographer, Roshni Lodhia, led the workshop. The enthusiastic learners spent the morning in a classroom setting and the afternoons taking images around Shanga for a day filled with discovery, discussions and a lot of laughter.
“I was thrilled when I was asked to design a photography workshop for a team of Shanga staff. As a conservation and documentary photographer based in Arusha, this was my chance to share the skills I'd learned over the years“ noted Roshni Lodhia. “Empowering Shanga staff to learn an additional skill like photography is fantastic for both their personal growth and for Shanga to have an internal photographer.”George, Jackson and Calvin were equally enthusiastic about the workshop, noting that “Roshni listened to our ideas and her compassion for teaching made us better students.” In addition, all were really impressed that Roshni “constantly showed different techniques to produce better photos.”
Developing new skills through training is an essential component to Shanga’s business model and the team consistently strives to find new ways to improve talents in-house, rather than using external specialists, in order to make Shanga a success.Shanga was the recipient of Minor Hotel’s Best Sustainability Award Winner in 2019, which included a monetary award for the organization. Part of these funds, which were donated in late 2020 to Shanga, were used towards the photography training.