In 1974 the South African Council of Churches (SACC) set up Devcraft with the aim of assisting locals in obtaining gainful employment. Morice Smithers joined this organisation in 1974 as manager of the Johannesburg branch. During this time he travelled throughout Southern Africa visiting and evaluating projects similar to Devcraft's. In most instances he found that operations were being poorly managed and that workers were being exploited. The bulk of this collection documents interviews conducted with craft workers explaining their working conditions and the difficulties they experienced.