Aid To Artisans Ghana: Mentoring For The Global Market

Located above the equator on the southern coast of West Africa Ghana lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean in 1957 it was the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence from the European colonial powers since the 15th century the Atlantic shore of this area dubbed the gold coast by the Portuguese has been a destination for trade between the continents elmina castle built by the Portuguese ten years before Columbus discovered the new world still towers above the city of El Mina a reminder of the long-standing involvement of Ghanaians in the global economy once one leaves the coast Ghana is a region of savanna grasslands divided by a broad band of dense tropical rainforest the climate is characterized by two distinctive seasons the dry season and the wet season Ghana is rich in its culture and its people it is a plural society with a growing population of 19 million six major ethnic groups and languages and a culture where indigenous beliefs combined with contemporary politics economics and religion the national economy is based largely on the export of tropical hardwoods and cocoa Ghana is the third largest supplier of the world's chocolate exporting 243 thousand tonnes of cocoa a year commercial lumbering has led to deforestation a major environmental problem for Ghana the tropical forests that used to cover 34% of Ghana has been reduced to 1/4 its original size secondary growth and savanna have taken its place while the Ghanaian economy is largely agrarian on the coast fishermen daily defy the pounding surf in their small boats to supply fresh fish to the markets in the rural areas small villages are the homes to Ghanaian farmers who rely on route and grain crops for their subsistence Forest Products are also important firewood is a necessity of life the nuts from the forest oil palm trees are used to make favored Ghanaian dishes the Ghanaian people are moving steadily toward peaceful economic growth a sense of optimism an entrepreneurial spirit and a growing sense of membership and participation in the global community is found throughout society Ghanaians have a major concern with building a future for their children elementary schools are part of the landscape literacy is a primary goal for the government and by the mid 1990s over 75% of Ghana's children were enrolled in primary school secondary education is becoming increasingly available throughout the country while for national universities and a University College of Education provide further training for life in Ghana's changing world whether living in the urban or the rural areas Ghanaians are comfortable with a dynamic culture flow in which the old and the new the indigenous and the contemporary exists side by side and sometimes blend the handcrafted Market Basket competes with the plastic container computers are increasingly seen in the context of contemporary businesses while nearby a woman prepares workers meals over an open fire the financially successful entrepreneur builds a modern house in his home village near the mud block family home in which he or she grew up most visitors enter Ghana through Accra the coastal city with a population of over one and a half million serves as capital and major business industrial and shipping center for the country the vitality of the informal economy is apparent on the major streets of the sprawling city street peddlers abound and roadside small-scale industries display their wares to the passing motorists over 300 years ago the 'santa heaney king of the Assante and his chiefs ruled the southern and central areas of contemporary ghana from their capital in Kumasi over the centuries the Assante developed one of the world's great art traditions the distinctive Ghanaian arts of gold working silk weaving brass casting and wood carving for example were first developed to serve the needs of the 'santa Heaney his court and the Chiefs to this day one can still see displays of leadership arts in the context of important funerals festivals and political events where Asante indigenous leaders appear wearing the finest of culturally important dress and surrounded by other items of leadership arts today the Assante Heartland is artistically rich because the earlier rulers of the Assante kingdom gathered together the most skilled craftspeople from the region and relocated them to crafts villages surrounding the capital city of Kumasi these villages continue to be centres for the production of local and export crafts unlike many of the world's indigenous art traditions Ghana's arts are alive and well as an example the distinctive carved stool of the Assante is still commonly seen in houses shrines and palaces as an art object it has wide appeal so that today urban based Carver's in Kumasi work full-time producing elaborately decorated stools for the export trade the art of dress is also highly developed at all levels of society Kente cloth of silk cotton or rayon once produced only for the use of royalty is now purchased and worn by any who can afford it another time sanctioned cloth commonly seen today is Adinkra cotton cloth dyed with local pigments and stamped with meaningful symbols craftsmen are kept busy in the village of in Tunsil near Kumasi producing Adinkra which is worn by ghanaians for funerals and other important rites of passage like most Asante hearts each motif applied to ad incra is loaded with meaning one popular pattern called accept God meaning there is no one to fear other than God has been adapted to a number of different crafts by contemporary artisans contemporary artists and entrepreneurs who develop products for the global market draw upon the indigenous repertoires that have been produced in Ghana for centuries as they enthusiastically embrace old and new markets and the changing society crafts products being produced in Ghana today can be divided into three functional types crafts which meet the needs of everyday life elaborated crafts serving prestige and political functions and crafts for tourists and agents of the global market while the functions of the art products are significantly changed when crafted for the outside market the indigenous forms are a constant base for inspiration simultaneously the artisan is freed from the demands of traditional use and can freely experiment to develop products for the global market artisans are faced with a new clientele halfway around the globe in entering these new markets mentoring is vital to success aid to artisans Ghana known as Atok is a non-governmental organization in Accra Ghana with a primary goal of strengthening employment opportunities for rural and urban artisans Bridget Carey Martin explains that hog provides mentoring guidance in three primary areas product design and technical assistance business training and marketing in the local tourism and global arenas first in the area of product design and development hog links artisans with foreign consultants who bring expertise and market driven product design from the US and Europe during hands-on workshops in Ghana consultants who know the demands of the export market offer collaborative technical assistance second to ensure sustainability of the artisan groups hog provides basic training in production planning costing pricing accounting and quality control third in order that products achieve success in the competitive marketplace hog assists entrepreneurs in attending and promoting their products at international trade shows in North America and Europe I saw what kind of colors of showing the u.s. 25 really changed my perception and everything suddenly I realized I could do better by using just only local materials as against importing this I was exposed to this multimedia thing it's working I never thought that big a market existed in Ghana retail shops in Accra at elmina castle and cocoon National Park are well stocked with Auto products for the expanding tourism market in addition through the auto trade network artisans are introduced to foreign wholesale buyers and to export agents agents guide the artisans in financing for large orders packaging for shipment abroad and understanding export procedures Hogg enters the new millennium with ten years of mentoring among Canadian artists and entrepreneurs who work in diverse media many of these businesses have grown rapidly some entrepreneurs now serve as role models to other artisans who hold visions of moving into the competitive global market in the transformation from artisan to businessperson successful entrepreneurs face a number of challenges what have these successful artisans learned that can be useful to other budding entrepreneurs the artisans identify seven areas on which they focused as their businesses grew issues center around raw materials and workshop location training design and product development production planning and quality control market diversification finances and management regardless of their craft artisans call attention to seasonal impacts on their production for example Potter's in the village of Oda Panaji long for sunny days as clay is difficult to dig and process through sips during the rainy season likewise in crook role from brass moles require bright sunlight for the several stage drying process in contrast the rainy season favours the gathering of grasses which grow wild in northern Ghana belay whose baskets are woven in Kumasi regularly travels north to stockpile grasses for use during the dry season he finds that meeting the demands for large orders is difficult when raw materials are not stockpiled year-round not only is production an issue but storage for large orders can also be problematic Peter Tamaki of ceramic atomic Lu and happy qu Fei of unique ceramics must package their pottery for large shipments outdoors the 75 to 100 boxes then remained unprotected until delivery later in the week for those artisans involved in wood carving the long-term environmental sustainability of their raw materials is in jeopardy as forests are depleted artisans increasingly design new smaller products that do not demand the large wood trunks used for such traditional products as the popular Ashanti stools wood is also essential for the firing of kilns in the production of pottery and glass beads with a dwindling firewood supply no mo da Java of CD beads sights wood as the most expensive raw material for his 30 artisan bead workshop for artisans working in beads and brass recyclable material are central to their track traditions while reclaimed materials help to keep production costs low disparities and recycled raw materials can lead to product inconsistencies unacceptable to wholesale buyers for example artisans in crow flow from purchased brass at the scrap metal market in Kumasi a line of decorative products produced using brass from varied sources can range in color from lighter tinges of pink to golden brown's methods for establishing product consistency while using recycled materials are critical for attracting buyers who expect product uniformity artisan entrepreneurs often initiate their businesses in small rented workshops or their homes entrepreneurs credit the central workplace for helping to establish quality standards and to build business loyalty when workers are scattered as in belays Kumasi Basket production achieving consistent quality can be difficult Beal a must travel around from household to household to inspect production for an order of twenty four hundred baskets which is due in a single month although entrepreneurs often start small when their businesses expand rapidly additional work sheds are quickly added in order to accommodate the growing workforce soon what was initially a small workshop has grown to encompass a large plot of land artisans worn that rented work arrangements are precarious and cite examples of being pushed off the land by an owner at a critical point of production as they search for land to relocate availability of electricity and water and convenience of transport are critical based on their experiences related to raw materials and workshop location entrepreneurs recommend that artisans plan to forestall potential seasonal interruptions and produc construct covered work in storage areas develop strategies for achieving product consistency with recycled materials and save for purchase of land as quickly as possible artisan entrepreneurs unanimously emphasize that having the expertise to train new artisans is key to growing their businesses artisans have employed a variety of models for building a workforce especially for wood crafts a small number of master wood carvers has reached crisis proportions non-si Oppo Cooum pumps ax of African version describes the fierce competition among wood exporters as quote were all fighting for the same carvers unquote to meet the demand non-si conducts regular ongoing apprenticeship training non-si maintains that the interest in learning to carve is strong as evidence more than 125 young boys showed up for training in response to a small sign that he posted for three days near his workshop applying a different training model happy CUFI offers mentoring across artists and groups from the skilled potters of unique ceramics to the less experienced potters of Oda Panaji a happy explains quote we always said we shouldn't try to grow alone we want to bring others with us unquote as the women of Oda Panaji gained skill their pots provide the basic production wear for Happy's firm the unfinished pots from Oda Panaji on the left are taken to unique ceramics where they are glazed and decorated as on the right under this model a group of Potter's upgrade their skills while the host firm in this case unique ceramics significantly expands production capacity in yet another approach to training rejoice a josue of mama ray Texas has capitalized on the large number of students who have completed secondary school but who due to a backlog in college and university placement must wait a year to begin their advanced education mama ray textiles offers a one-year apprenticeship in which young people in their late teens learn the stages of batik fabric artistry while also assisting in her production whether one-to-one apprenticeship cross group mentoring or group training successful artists and entrepreneurs take training for the next generation of artisans seriously large quantities of similar appearing products saturate the Ghanaian market willingness to try new designs is essential for artisans who want to build a wholesale client base producing only what is familiar or what the artisan likes does not attract wholesale buyers nor convert them into repeat customers for example CD of CD beads transfer his bead making skills from traditional opaque varieties to colorful translucent beads in a range of colors sizes and shapes a large order of buttons for a US apparel manufacturer resulted from these changes another innovative use of beads includes candle stands that incorporate beads in their manufacturer home decoration magazines from abroad serve as a stimulus for product ideas you can reach the trend in terms of colors and them associations illustrates color change and so on when you look through you might see one color which is predominance see certain craft media presents special challenges for product development basketry is an example in point competition from Asian countries as keen due to low artisan wages in order to maintain orders producers such as belay must develop ways to increase artisan efficiencies in order to reduce production costs only by lowering prices while the large wholesale orders which belay has attracted remain in ghana in a culture where copying of other artisans designs as rampant Ghanaian artisans have employed various strategies to protect the uniqueness of their products as a way of preventing other batik artisans from copying her innovative designs before she penetrates the local market rejoice a josue of mama ray textbooks first prints and dyes a large run of two hundred to three hundred twelve yard pieces only then does she introduce the new design to the canadian public in a second protective strategy rejoice a giass who discontinued having the wood blocks used for batik printing carved outside the workshop outside Carver's often quickly sold her new designs to other batik printers to reduce pirating of her designs rejoyce developed an innovative technique whereby her designs are cut in-house using large foam blocks not only are her designs protected but the foam blocks are also highly effective or even transfer of wax to the cotton fab from innovative product development to external markets to strategies for design protection denying artisans actively contribute to their dynamic crafts traditions in the process they advocate for balancing gained cultural uniqueness while also learning to make what the client wants technological ingenuity characterizes Ghanaians artisans throughout the production process establishing product conformity across the line of ceramics or throughout hundreds of meters of fabric is essential for meeting wholesale clients expectations that one product will be exactly the same as the next within a large-scale order to overcome previous inconsistencies o tapenade Z Potter's now weigh the clay for each pot as a way of ensuring uniformity in pot size non-si of African version with his strong interest in production innovations continually searches for ways to eliminate what he calls avoidable sweat for his 125 Carver's to illustrate using an electric saw he pre cuts wood blocks to the sizes that Carver's need to complete their work Carver's can then focus their attention on carving rather than preparing the wood for production technological innovations also contribute to efficiencies in brass craftsmanship artisans now use Surgical searches for extruding the hundreds of metres of wax tubing needed to create the channels through which the molten metal flows during the casting process formerly tubing was hand rolled across the artisans Lakes also in the past artisans hand pumped bellows to fuel the fire critical to the last stage of the brass casting process today connection of a fan from an automobile air conditioner motor significantly reduces the human power input to production establishing a formula for determining production capacity is critical for setting and meeting production targets and delivery dates for Potter's that can include estimating the skills and production potential of workers calculating drying time and figuring the number and capacity of kilns when an order expands from the usual nine thousand pots in a single month to an order of twenty nine thousand three hundred pots in two months a firm may not be ready for the dramatic growth and the offense all that would without any problems so we had a capacity the communication in English we wanted to test our strength and so we didn't completely the lure of marketing products on the Internet although appealing to many artists and entrepreneurs can come too soon related to production capacity would have gotten onto the internet alien whether somebody said we better do your homework well because you could be actually swamped you can get so many others you can conceive so develop it better let's develop a few products let's know what exactly we are doing before we get on to the intern now they should be ready and getting to designs that we don't produce relatively easy and fast once you do them whether increasing production consistency adapting equipment or improving production capacity all are critical to delivering an order on time as Bridget Carey motton executive director of ATAG summarizes quote if an artisan disappoints a buyer once the buyer won't come back unquote craft consultants have long encouraged artisans to diversify their markets among local tourism and export clients diversification helps maintain steady production and a balanced cash flow Peter Tama clue applies this recommendation by supplementing his export production with the business in roof tile manufacturer for the local Ghanaian market now we have switched onto exports full time and so we don't end money regularly anymore then we realized it's not the best thing so we want to develop the town seriously and me any money from there we know there's a people we want to do that likewise when rejoice a josue of Mama ray textiles found the export market hard to tap due to difficulties in acquiring consistent dyes in quantities necessary for large export orders she turned to the corporate market in Ghana an order of batik drapery fabric for 45 local bank offices gives her batik textiles widespread exposure throughout Ghana outside Ghana market diversification is also important as artisans expand their export marketing from the u.s. to European nations they learn about subtle differences in consumer preferences across cultures if with bright colors and unison financial issues surface at many points during production beginning with procurement of raw materials artisans cite the continuous need for cash in order to stockpile raw materials in anticipation of impending large orders in between orders for basketry belay needs funds for keeping 40 artisans from the north employed in Kumasi preparing grass and reeds for weaving otherwise the basket weavers will scatter to their home villages and not be available when a large order arrives additionally wood carving entrepreneurs find that the carvers they employ expect to be paid as they finish carving not when the order is complete and payment received from abroad payment expectations come at a time when cash flow may be low CD of CD beads continually searches for a wide range of recyclable glass in blue amber violet and turquoise in order to build up reserves for meeting his clients varied color preferences in addition to raw materials artisans often need financial resources to absorb the cost of producing sample products for a potential client rejoice a josue notes that she often produces up to 20 multiple meter batik samples for corporate clients to choose from as they make their final decisions lack of funds can also contribute to difficulty in building up the reserve of finished items for clients who drop in unexpectedly retaining sufficient cash for building stock ahead is a never-ending struggle many of the artisan enterprises mentored by itag started as one person organizations with a single manager and a few employees as organizations became more complex developing skills for conflict resolution has proven useful as the businesses grew rapidly the need for real