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May PEACE Prevail in Sierra Leone!
May PEACE Prevail on Earth!

CADS Arts and Craft Support

The Center for Alternative Development Strategies (CADS) gives support to the Arts and Craft Sector in Sierra Leone.

The artisan groups affiliated to CADS have the know-how in their various skills. The principle needs for these artisan groups are working tools and raw materials, and product design to meet international standards, as well as marketing their products.

These artisan groups could do better, but from researches done by CADS, a number of reasons and situations have been identified as being responsible for their poor performance over the years, amongst these are:

The Chief Executive Officer of CADS, Kenday S. Kamara (L) with arts and craft group in Freetown -- May, 1998.

1. Lack of access to capital because of institutional and "discrete" barriers, inadequate credit delivery mechanisms and poor level of domestic savings.

2. Inadequate support services.

3. The current macro economic environment: Effects of the rebel war.

4. Donor fatigue: reduced Foreign Direct Investment, reduced aid and grants and late disbursements.

If well motivated therefore, these artisan groups can be more productive, and will be better equipped to train other members to learn their artisan skills. With foreign donor investor support, this will increase production will provide opportunities for other interested affiliates to train to acquire skills in gara dye and tie, pottery and ceramic making, carving, and weaving, thus expanding employment and generating income. Foreign donoror investor support will motivate members to organize themselves better, provides opportunities in training in leadership, skills development and better income realization.

The support will also have the extraordinary effect of achieving its goal of sustainable development with peoples self reliance.

The Raw materials Used And Where They Come From:

Pottery: Clay, sourced locally.
Ovens, made locally with local building materials - used to bake the clay into pottery and ceramics.
Working Tools.
Paint. Carvings: Wood/logs, sourced locally.
Metallic tools with wooden handles, made locally from scrap metals.
Tins of varnish, imported from the United States or Europe.
Gara Materials and Batik Clothes: Rolls of brillion/linen materials imported from U S or Europe.
Dyeing ink of different colors imported from the United States or Europe Fire Wood, sourced locally. Empty Drums, sourced locally.
Woven Baskets/Hats: Local Raw Materials (Bamboo Canes, Raffia, etc.). Ink made from local herbs.

Craft Products Supported And Available For Purchase:

Pottery

Carvings

Gara Materials and Batik Clothes

Woven Baskets

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The President/Chief Executive of CADS, Mr. Kenday Samuel Kamara (R) showing finished Batik products, ready to sell. Freetown, Sierra Leone: May, 1998.