The North West Region is a crafts destination par excellence. Indigenes from all the seven Divisions, right down to the Sub-divisions, have craft works which are unique to the cultures and traditions, representing their ancestral lineages. In the Regional stand, original craft works like a rotating Fon’s throne and a prototype of North West Fondoms with all its attributes are on display. According to the Regional Delegate of MINPMESSA for the North West, El Hadj Issah Mfetie, the region is represented by 40 craftsmen.
They are either into traditional dresses, decoration, wood carving, antiquities, pottery, weaving, dyeing, painting or jewellery, among others. All of them are working tooth and nail to create as many contacts as possible, gain through others from other parts of the country and world as well as sell as much as possible in order not to take the burden of transporting the products when the show ends on Friday February 3. Like Charlotte involved in weaving/dyeing, John Keyab in traditional dresses, Kegham Emmanuel in wood carving and others, the show is a good opportunity to project their ingenuity. Their meticulous selection (40 from the 140 craftsmen who competed at the regional level) and the criteria used, gave room for the region’s finest craftsmen to be present at SIARC.
Although they are not selling as intended, creating contacts and gaining from what others are doing, El Hadj Issa said, would help improve on their talents and marketability in the future.
