OnTap Magazine

youth unemployment specifically, it is estimated that roughly 60 percent of 15–24-year-olds are out of work. Thinking back to her own experience with the Road to 100, Obakeng thought, why can’t we have something like that here? Couldn’t we provide a similar program for young folks over the age of 21 to facilitate a path into the beer industry? She would see people drinking beer on the street and think, “They don’t realize that they could monetize on this.” This image also hints at another issue: the significant number of South Africans who don’t drink responsibly. “Beer has gotten a bad name…In communities where people are poor, beer is abused,” she says. But she had seen, both at home in her village with her grandmother, and on the streets of London and Toronto, and on those early morning Zoom classes, that beer can be so much more. “We use traditional beer to communicate with the spirits… If you are a spiritual person, the smell of traditional beer – it evokes an emotion in you. You understand that your ancestors used to make this [same beer]...This knowledge is passed down from generation to generation…It is how I connect with my ancestors.” We see it as entrepreneurship, as storytelling, as activism “It’s not just a drink ,” she continues. “We see it on a level that no one sees it. We see it as entrepreneurship, as storytelling, as activism.” As a filmmaker, she knows the importance of storytelling. There are many stories that are not being told, here in South Africa and elsewhere, and she feels that beer should be a vehicle for getting those stories out. It could also be a canvas on which to advocate for the rights of the marginalized. BEER IS ART She had to get to work to bring this idea – which became the “Beer is Art” movement – to life. The first step was writing a detailed proposal on what exactly her program would entail. She wanted to be sure it reflected what participants would want to learn, and she was clear from the start that the education would not simply focus on beer brewing. Rather, this program would provide exposure to a range of skills within the food and beverage industry, from beer and food pairing to beer and media. Licensing, she points out, is another considerable issue: people may know how to make and market their beer, but without proper licensing – which is a massive hurdle even for individuals with all the “right” resources and connections – they risk running afoul of the law. So, she added a course about licensing to her growing curriculum. Obakeng makes the strong point that you don’t need to abandon existing skillsets; if you come from a media background, you could use that to develop, for example, a beer podcast. “People can marry their skills with beer, they don’t have to start from scratch.” Obakeng saw online that a brewery in Scotland had a theatre embedded within it. “So you can drink beer and watch a play, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is so creative!’” Another example comes to mind, making her laugh, as she recounts seeing a yoga studio somewhere in the US that also served craft beer. These examples underscore what Obakeng is trying to get at which is that Beer is Art will provide participants with beer basics, but it will ultimately be up to them how they want to bring their talents and passions to bear in the industry. “Maybe you studied logistics,” she offers, “Can you provide transportation to small breweries and help [with distribution]?” PULLING TOGETHER RESOURCES Beer is Art is still in a fundraising phase. They have a curriculum and lecturers who have agreed to teach certain courses, however, the program will need to cover their remuneration. Obakeng also wants to secure funds to provide students with a small seeding amount upon completion of the program so they have something to start out with. But it’s toughandpublicperception is a significant challenge. “People think that I am just teaching children how to drink.” She has to convey 22 | Winter 2024 | ontapmag.co.za