CRAFT CENTRE FOR NYARIGA
CRAFT CENTRE FOR NYARIGA
October 01, 2009
BY PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM
I S D – BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
A craft centre for basket weavers has been commissioned at Nyariga in the Upper East Region. The centre constructed at the cost of 30,000.00 Ghanaian Cedis was funded by two American organisations, The Blessing Basket Project, [TBBP] and Whole Foods Market.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Honourable Mark Owen Woyongo who commissioned the craft centre observed that the partnership between the Nyariga community and the two American organisations does not only present a fruitful business venture but also an opportunity for Africans in the diaspora to trace their roots and invest in Nyariga and the region as a whole.
Honourable Woyongo said apart from basket weaving, the region also produces other handicrafts including leather products, earthen pots, smocks and batik tie and dye which when properly harnessed can eradicate the high poverty levels in the region and also create employment for the people. He disclosed that Ghana averagely earns 80,000.00 dollars a year from exportation of the Bolgatanga baskets.
The regional minister noted that the youth constitute the chunk of the country’s population and disclosed that government has rolled out some policy programmes such as formalising vocational and apprenticeship training and the formation of a national training and placement board to facilitate the employment of skillfully trained youth. In line with this, the NDC government plans to review the National Youth Employment Programme to improve the trade and vocations module which will train the youth to acquire the necessary craftsmanship skills and support them with loan schemes to establish themselves.
He said government has initiated several interventions in the area of agriculture to help farmers add value to their produce thereby helping to bridge the north-south development gap. Also, a number of dams are being desilted in order for them to hold more water for dry season farming and for use by livestock. Furthermore, a shea nut processing plant will be built in Tamale next year to provide ready market for the produce.
According to Honorable Woyongo, discussions have been held with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the North Star Tomato factory at Pwalugu in Bolgatanga and assured tomato farmers that there will be a ready market for tomatoes this farming season. Similarly, oil processing mills will be constructed at Bolgatanga and in Wa to extract oils from soya beans, groundnuts and shea nut as well and this certainly will create jobs for all classes of people.
He also observed that the region expects bumper harvest this season and has subsequently asked all district assemblies to buy the excess produce for storage and to sell it back to the people during the lean season.
The founder and executive director of The Blessing Basket Project (TBBP), Madam Theresa Wilson in a speech said when her organisation arrived in Nyariga five years ago, poverty was high especially among the youth and women who constantly drifted to the south of the county to find jobs but in most cases were met with harsh conditions, hunger and homelessness.
Madam Theresa noted that the Nyariga labour force was all gone, the fields were bare and no livestock was found in the village. However when TBBP presented itself as a partner in the basket wearing trade, many women from Nyariga who were loitering in Accra and Kumasi returned home with their children do a prosperous business environment.
The TBBP director said her organisation helped the women to tap their weaving potentials and also paid them comparatively higher prices for their baskets and this has resulted in many more women being able to cater for themselves and their children by clothing them and putting them in school.
She said the profits gained from the sale of the Nyariga baskets in USA by TBBP and Whole Foods Market have been ploughed back into development projects in the Nyariga community some of which include the construction of the Nyariga-Doone girls junior high school, a bore hole pump and the community craft centre.
The Assembly Man for Nyariga, Honourable John Nyaaba earlier in a welcome address noted that his area is home to quality hand-woven baskets but lamented that the women are not able to earn enough income from their trade because of the activities of middlemen.
Honorable Nyaaba thus praised TBBP for presenting a ready market for the produce by the women and also paying them realistic prices.
He appealed to government to make credit facilities available to the weavers so that they can expand their trade in order to rake in more incomes. He said more storage facilities are needed to store excess straw during the bumper season for feature use.
The assembly man also requested a library, places of convenience and construction of a junior high school block for a primary school which was built in 1994 by the then NDC government but has since not had transition classrooms to house junior high school students.
Meanwhile the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, Honorable Epsona H. Ayamga in his address advised the basket weavers against engaging their children in the weaving business saying that will amount to child labour.
He advised them to rather use the proceeds to send their children to school and ensure that they complete. He pledged that the assembly will extend small loan schemes to the weavers and urged them to pay back promptly so that their colleagues can also benefit.
October 01, 2009
BY PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM
I S D – BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
A craft centre for basket weavers has been commissioned at Nyariga in the Upper East Region. The centre constructed at the cost of 30,000.00 Ghanaian Cedis was funded by two American organisations, The Blessing Basket Project, [TBBP] and Whole Foods Market.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Honourable Mark Owen Woyongo who commissioned the craft centre observed that the partnership between the Nyariga community and the two American organisations does not only present a fruitful business venture but also an opportunity for Africans in the diaspora to trace their roots and invest in Nyariga and the region as a whole.
Honourable Woyongo said apart from basket weaving, the region also produces other handicrafts including leather products, earthen pots, smocks and batik tie and dye which when properly harnessed can eradicate the high poverty levels in the region and also create employment for the people. He disclosed that Ghana averagely earns 80,000.00 dollars a year from exportation of the Bolgatanga baskets.
The regional minister noted that the youth constitute the chunk of the country’s population and disclosed that government has rolled out some policy programmes such as formalising vocational and apprenticeship training and the formation of a national training and placement board to facilitate the employment of skillfully trained youth. In line with this, the NDC government plans to review the National Youth Employment Programme to improve the trade and vocations module which will train the youth to acquire the necessary craftsmanship skills and support them with loan schemes to establish themselves.
He said government has initiated several interventions in the area of agriculture to help farmers add value to their produce thereby helping to bridge the north-south development gap. Also, a number of dams are being desilted in order for them to hold more water for dry season farming and for use by livestock. Furthermore, a shea nut processing plant will be built in Tamale next year to provide ready market for the produce.
According to Honorable Woyongo, discussions have been held with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the North Star Tomato factory at Pwalugu in Bolgatanga and assured tomato farmers that there will be a ready market for tomatoes this farming season. Similarly, oil processing mills will be constructed at Bolgatanga and in Wa to extract oils from soya beans, groundnuts and shea nut as well and this certainly will create jobs for all classes of people.
He also observed that the region expects bumper harvest this season and has subsequently asked all district assemblies to buy the excess produce for storage and to sell it back to the people during the lean season.
The founder and executive director of The Blessing Basket Project (TBBP), Madam Theresa Wilson in a speech said when her organisation arrived in Nyariga five years ago, poverty was high especially among the youth and women who constantly drifted to the south of the county to find jobs but in most cases were met with harsh conditions, hunger and homelessness.
Madam Theresa noted that the Nyariga labour force was all gone, the fields were bare and no livestock was found in the village. However when TBBP presented itself as a partner in the basket wearing trade, many women from Nyariga who were loitering in Accra and Kumasi returned home with their children do a prosperous business environment.
The TBBP director said her organisation helped the women to tap their weaving potentials and also paid them comparatively higher prices for their baskets and this has resulted in many more women being able to cater for themselves and their children by clothing them and putting them in school.
She said the profits gained from the sale of the Nyariga baskets in USA by TBBP and Whole Foods Market have been ploughed back into development projects in the Nyariga community some of which include the construction of the Nyariga-Doone girls junior high school, a bore hole pump and the community craft centre.
The Assembly Man for Nyariga, Honourable John Nyaaba earlier in a welcome address noted that his area is home to quality hand-woven baskets but lamented that the women are not able to earn enough income from their trade because of the activities of middlemen.
Honorable Nyaaba thus praised TBBP for presenting a ready market for the produce by the women and also paying them realistic prices.
He appealed to government to make credit facilities available to the weavers so that they can expand their trade in order to rake in more incomes. He said more storage facilities are needed to store excess straw during the bumper season for feature use.
The assembly man also requested a library, places of convenience and construction of a junior high school block for a primary school which was built in 1994 by the then NDC government but has since not had transition classrooms to house junior high school students.
Meanwhile the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, Honorable Epsona H. Ayamga in his address advised the basket weavers against engaging their children in the weaving business saying that will amount to child labour.
He advised them to rather use the proceeds to send their children to school and ensure that they complete. He pledged that the assembly will extend small loan schemes to the weavers and urged them to pay back promptly so that their colleagues can also benefit.
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