Shangaan Amethyst is a term that Nharo coined with Shangaan Chief Gezani. 

Before we arrived at the mine in Mateke, Zimbabwe we reached out to Chief Gezani as the leader and spokesperson of the Gezani Communal Land. 

Chief Gezani gave us explicit permission to market on their behalf in the form of a letter which you see in the image below.

Nharo’s Purpose with Shangaan Amethysts

We explained to Chief Gezani that there are two main groups interested in Shangaan Amethyst. The first are fine mineral collectors who appreciate the unique formations and beauty. 

The second are metaphysical healers who feel energy in the stones. Judy Hall, Hank Mason, Naha Armady and Francis Klein helped us to define this since we are not experts in this area. 

Our History with the Shangaan People

Shangaan Elder can be seen in this photo, displaying an Amethyst near the mine.  When Nharo Africa came to the mine, we were astounded at the pride the miners had in the beautiful crystals they produced. 

 

A Shangaan Elder displaying one of the Shangaan Amethysts.
Before we came to the mine, Shangaan Amethysts were not known to the world. Now, we help these miners spread the word of how beautiful their crystals are.
In this photo, you can see two Shangaan miners taking a break.
Their hard work pays off in the form of the beautiful crystals we see in the next photo of amethyst spread out over a local newspaper from Zimbabwe. 
A flat of natural Shangaan Amethysts spread out over a local Zimbabwe newspaper.

Nharo was allowed to work with the community to source and market the Shangaan Amethyst. In trading, our partners and colleagues work directly with the Chief and his community. At Nharo, we take pride in working with communities in Africa fairly and providing credit to the miners of such a beautiful stone. The Chief left us with some lessons we’d like to impart to you.

The Environment

When we visited the mine, we were astounded to see that the environment is unspoiled; it’s kept clean, pure and pristine. At night we saw fireflies all around us, and the crystal clear rivers are populated with a multitude of swimming fish. In order to continue this tradition of environmentalism, we asked the Chief how this is achieved.

Chief Gezani made two rules for the Shangaan miners:

  1.     If a tree is cut, 5 must be planted.
  2.     If a hole is made, it must be re-filled. 

“Shangaan amethysts were kept by our ancestors. They were protecting it for us to use now.” (Chief Gezani, 2019)

Much like that, we wish protect the environment and the community.

Our Hopes for the Future of The Shangaan Amethysts

Nharo Africa hopes to continue working with the Shangaan people and their chief to market and promote the beautiful crystals coming out of their mines. As the original representatives of the Shangaan Amethyst, we continue to offer the gorgeous amethysts to a market outside of Africa, in turn, helping the Shangaan people living in the Gezani Communal Land to continue to make a living mining the stones they are so proud of.