We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mannini Mokhothu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mannini below.

Mannini, appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

Yes Bonnini Art Residency is a place where artists and socially conscious travelers meet to experience the local community, be involved with local artists, and exchange stories and ideas that are usually unrecognized. Most people in Semonkong village have never seen life outside Lesotho. there are no basic resource for education and no social assistance towards cultural institutions. These limitations have negative impact on personal and professional development especially for the youth whose dreams remain shuttered.
Bonnini’s journey is about using creative mechanisms for changing cultural isolation into cultural inclusion whereby local people can meet creative travelers on common topics/creative projects. workshops, classes, mentorship programs to the people of Haeso Semonkong are hugely important to invoke exposure to new ideas, and transfer creative skills into this young and ambitious community.
With artists and socially conscious travelers visiting semonkong, I believe that my brand is in a fair position to facilitate cultural exchange and foster collaboration between local artists and visiting creators. and in this way, we may well represent dreams and ideas that may have been previously unrepresented. we hope that this sort of interaction may also lead to fresh innovative projects and encourage a sense of community pride.
Bonnini Art Residency is ultimately about addressing poverty, community mental health, and projecting Lesotho talent to the outside world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I create mini workshops, one to one youth mentorship for those who wish to share their dreams through creative means, and i do offer an authentic home-stay experience for responsible tourists, and artists in the area of Semonkong, in the south east of Lesotho, very close to the Maletsunyane waterfalls.
I’m trying to Archive, local culture as a basic learner-traveler resource for getting to know Semonkong village and the inhabitants of these beautiful mountains. i believe that travelers should know this place through real native people, and through real community projects collaboration in order to bridge cultural disparities, increase visibility for local artists and acknowledge the unique stories of the local community.
I’m super proud of the local youth that are already displaying their artworks in the residence, and i am truly humbled by the international travelers who have visited our home-stay and have chosen to explore the local lifestyle and culture through Bonnini Art residency. I want people to know that Bonnini Art Residency is still in development, and the only way to keep the journey going is by simply following us on social media, getting in touch and involved with local community activities that we offer, and sharing ideas and skills that may inspire the local community for a better positive picture.
Bonnini Art Residency is gradually becoming a creative cultural hub, my dream is to eventually position semonkong village as a cultural destination and a healthy space for leveraging the power of the art to foster resilience, promote social change and enhance the quality of life for residents, eventually becoming a more vibrant and positively engaged community.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

my dream is driven by my passion and goal to bring people of different cultures together, tell stories of those who have never been heard, and heal cultural wounds that are related to poverty. I share a deep connection with the people of Semonkong, I am familiar with their social and economic challenges, and I do appreciate that i’m in a reasonable position to take care of myself in a away that is inclusive and i hope that BAR makes a good impact on the people around me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’m not going to lie and say its easy to develop BAR. I’ve been away from home for some years pursuing my quest for education. and in my return, i have been feeling quite isolated within my own community. Its not that people don’t know me anymore, its that i have also struggled to get to know them again. this has not been easy and i am often feeling like the shadow of my own sun because the local cultural expectations are different from my own expectations for my own life.
There is sometimes conflict of interests when it comes to what is a cultural norm and what is my personal view and choices i have made about my own journey.
But i have grown to learn how to listen without too much response to what i don’t entirely believe in anymore. and i have taught myself how to be compassionate instead of judging and i will always go extra mile to make both the locals and the visitors feel at home with each other while exploring the new territory of cultural exchange and deeper understating that regardless of skin colors and economic or social backgrounds, we’re all human and we each have a load that may not even be easily spoken of, so its important to be kind and more understanding instead of judging. eventually i am becoming better as i see that there is no actually right or wrong culture, there is juts difference between cultures.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bonnini.com
• Instagram: Bonnini Art Residency
• Facebook: Bonnini Art residency