Volume 9, Issue 2, November 2014, Pages 897–905
Rolland Wemegah1
1 Industrial Art Department, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, U/E Region, Ghana
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The Upper East Region of Ghana is home to myriads of authentic handicraft products. Majority of the indigenes however, depend heavily on basket weaving to earn extra income to supplement gains made from subsistence farming, petty trading, and rearing of animals. Over the years, sales of the basket wares have fallen drastically, largely due to stale products. This is precariously affecting the earnings of the artisans. The India-Africa craft design initiative therefore aims at developing a range of innovative woven products to boost the fortunes of the industry.
The study was an output from the various India-Africa craft design project phases in Ghana. Data was collected using interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, observations and focus group discussions of the participating artisans, project consultants, technical experts, exporters and exhibition attendants. The study was also supported with photographs of some of the newly designed products. From the findings obtained, it is quite apparent that with the relevant artistic and technical inputs, the grass woven products from Bolgatanga and its environs, popularly known as "Bolga baskets" could be restyled and integrated with materials such as leather, wood, calabash, metal and bamboo, to become an acceptable export commodity, which could generate substantial income for the artisans, the region and the nation as a whole.
Author Keywords: Basketry, baskets from Ghana, Bolga baskets, integrated woven wares, woven guinea grass products.
Rolland Wemegah1
1 Industrial Art Department, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P. O. Box 767, Bolgatanga, U/E Region, Ghana
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The Upper East Region of Ghana is home to myriads of authentic handicraft products. Majority of the indigenes however, depend heavily on basket weaving to earn extra income to supplement gains made from subsistence farming, petty trading, and rearing of animals. Over the years, sales of the basket wares have fallen drastically, largely due to stale products. This is precariously affecting the earnings of the artisans. The India-Africa craft design initiative therefore aims at developing a range of innovative woven products to boost the fortunes of the industry.
The study was an output from the various India-Africa craft design project phases in Ghana. Data was collected using interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, observations and focus group discussions of the participating artisans, project consultants, technical experts, exporters and exhibition attendants. The study was also supported with photographs of some of the newly designed products. From the findings obtained, it is quite apparent that with the relevant artistic and technical inputs, the grass woven products from Bolgatanga and its environs, popularly known as "Bolga baskets" could be restyled and integrated with materials such as leather, wood, calabash, metal and bamboo, to become an acceptable export commodity, which could generate substantial income for the artisans, the region and the nation as a whole.
Author Keywords: Basketry, baskets from Ghana, Bolga baskets, integrated woven wares, woven guinea grass products.
How to Cite this Article
Rolland Wemegah, “BOOSTING THE BOLGATANGA BASKETRY INDUSTRY: INPUTS FROM THE INDIA-AFRICA CRAFT DESIGN INITIATIVE,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 897–905, November 2014.