Change of mind-set is needed to appreciate and preserve African handicrafts, Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.
Mudenda who was speaking to 263Chat on the sidelines of the CODEPA Conference of Ministers hosted by the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development in Bulawayo last week, said Africa should start embracing local handicrafts as it helps in preserving the African legacy.
“We have to safeguard and preserve the heritage of our nations, by collecting the designs and patterns of crafts found in all the regions and protect these through patenting and branding.
“Immediate steps should be taken to safeguard the livelihoods of skilled craftspeople and to prevent the loss of irreplaceable ethnic cultural traditions and values especially among our youths.
“Assisting artisans in networking with national, regional and international business associations should also be facilitated to generate sustainable contacts which in themselves could lead to opening of new markets,” said Mudenda.
He said Africa is rich in handicraft talent calling on governments to start investing in local artists as their artwork resembles local culture.
Mudenda urged unemployed youths to venture into handcrafting since it involves practical skills which can be mastered in a short period of time.
He appealed to CODEPA member states to address access to markets, ICT, funding and operating space which he said were limitations curtailing the growth of the handicraft sector.
