• Some weavers displayed their products

Eager to sustain local indus­tries in the country, the Nubuke Foundation, a private Visual Art and Cultural Institution has opened the 2023 Woori (Weav­ing) Festival with a call on the public to support in keeping the local textile industry in operation by patronising their products.

The Woori festival is organised yearly to celebrates the weaving and artisanal skills and practices of the people in the Upper West Region and also create a platform for networking, fashion, trading opportunities for participants, traditional music and dance and also promote local dishes.

The Director of the Nubuku Foundation Ms. Odile Tevie, who addressed patriots at the third edition of the festival at Loho in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region, said the fes­tival was aimed at showcasing the weaving industry as the wealth of the region and also to portray Wa as the region’s weaving capital.

“Weavers are passionate about seeing increased development in their communities, they provide opportunities for school drop-outs and also reduce migration of the youth, therefore I appeal to all to recognise this and work with them to bring economic empowerment to the society,” she said.

She believed that the unique weaving and clay culture of the region was one of the anchors of economic growth for families and communities’ particularly women.

She said over the years, the Foundation through its partners had provided training for the weav­ers to enable them to expand their skills, adopt and employ innovation and explore market opportunities by connecting them to peer net­works within Ghana, Mali, Cote d’ Ivoire and other places.

“In keeping with the idea of inde­pendence, the festival highlights the diverse innovation and creativ­ity taking place within the weaving communities and schools, especial­ly in Wa, Nadowli, and Nandom,” she said.

She said the Foundation hoped to stimulate economic transformation within the region with the support of the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Secre­tariat, in partnership with the Arts in West Africa (AWA), an ACP-EU Culture Programme, and the Centre Culturelle Kore and Institut Fran­cais.

The Regional Director for Tour­ism, Mr. Moses Ndebugri, said his outfit was working together with other partners to promote the cre­ative arts industry and the domes­tic tourism industry.

“The Ministry recognises the fact that weaving, clay pottery, fash­ion, food , customs, music and the dance showcased today explicitly depict among others, your way of life which you have promoted lo­cally and internationally,” he said.

 From Rafia Abdul Razak Wa