SIAO (Salon International de Ouagadougou / International Arts and Handicrafts Trade Show of Ouagadougou) 2008

From the 29th October to the 9th November 2008 I travelled to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to represent our organic fair trade cotton project at the International Arts and Handicrafts Trade Show (SIAO). I travelled with colleagues from the NGO Enda Tiers Monde and partners from our Senegalese Fair Trade working group. The project (described on the other pages of this blog) involves locally processing the certified organic fair trade cotton produced in Koussanar, Senegal. In Senegal there is no factory currently operating to produce industrial cotton thread, so we are concentrating on manual handicraft techniques – hand-woven thread, hand-spun cloth and natural dyes. Processing the certified cotton locally allows us to create added value for local actors in the textile chain, and to therefore create a profit for the Yakaar Niani Wulli Federation (who produce and process the cotton), rather than allowing all processing to take place in Europe and to benefit Europeans. Working with the different actors in the villages also allows the preservation of traditional handicraft techniques.

The pilot project is part of a larger process in collaboration with a variety of actors involved in fair trade in Senegal, with the aim of better understanding how to trade fairly at local level, and how to develop a local fair trade certification system, better adapted to African realities. Synergies have been created with other actors in the fair trade textiles sector in Senegal through participation in the Senegalese Fair Trade working group, in particular with regard to marketing the YNW products internationally (online).

Workshops

On the 30th October I participated in a workshop organised by the Swiss NGO Helvetas Burkina Faso and CORADE on the theme “Producing and processing organic fair trade cotton in West Africa: a challenge; an opportunity”. I made a PowerPoint presentation of the YNW hand processing cotton project. Participants were able to share information through presentations, discussions, and group work, and actions were identified for the future to encourage collaborations between actors in the region.

On the 5th November another workshop was held entitled “The contribution of arts and crafts in the promotion of raw materials: the case of cotton and natural fibres” which allowed exchanges between those working with cotton and natural fibres that are not necessarily organic or fair trade.

The stand

We exhibited the Yakaar Niani Wulli organic fair trade cotton products on a stand alongside products of other actors in the “African Fair Trade Group” which brings together initiatives from 5 West African countries (to be enlarged in the near future). From Senegal we displayed products from 4 areas of activity: cotton/textiles; arts and crafts; medicinal plants; and food processing – all working in fair trade. For cotton I had brought a selection of the prototype products from the collection, raw materials, and also some of the bags sewn by the tailors in the village of Koussanar during the training given in October 2008.

Each day a different actor made a presentation of his/her work on the stand to the general public. I made a presentation entitled “First successes in the textiles and arts and crafts chains on fair trade markets in Senegal” alongside a colleague from Enda Ecopole who works with artisans.

Participating at the SIAO allowed me to share the cotton project with others (the general public and those working in the field) and to receive interesting feedback to take into account in the future. The next SIAO will take place in 2010.