- Title: Somalia's traditional fabric makers are hanging on by a thread
- Date: 2nd October 2019
- Summary: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MOGADISHU SKYLINE VARIOUS OF MOHAMED NOR, OWNER OF WORKSHOP, WINDING THREAD VIEW OF WORKSHOP WEAVER ALIGNING THREAD VARIOUS OF ABDULAH ALI OPERATING A LOOM VARIOUS OF NOR AT HIS LOOM (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) ABDULAH ALI, WEAVER, SAYING: "I have been working on this craft for forty years. I only earn a total of 50,000 Somali Shillings (US$2) each day. I do not know what to do with that money because it is not enough. I have bills for my family and if one of my kids were to get sick I cannot buy medicine for them. We are face a lot of problems while doing this job, but we do not know any other profession." VARIOUS OF WEAVER OPERATING HIS LOOM THEN ALIGNING THREAD VARIOUS OF NOR WORKING AT HIS LOOM (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) MOHAMED NOR, WEAVER, SAYING: "We decided to take up this work because we were unemployed. I do not know any other professions like masonry or carpentry. I only know how to weave, but there is less work now because cheaper clothes have flooded the market." VARIOUS OF NOR SHOWING CLOTHES TO A PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) IDLE ALI HAJI, CUSTOMER, SAYING: "I buy these clothes to promote local production and encourage them to make more clothes. I've spent US$29 for four pieces." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND VEHICLES IN THE STREETS OF MOGADISHU VARIOUS OF SHOPS SELLING TRADITIONAL CLOTHES HAJI ABUKAR, FABRICS SHOP OWNER, FOLDING A SARONG (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) HAJI ABUKAR, FABRICS SHOP OWNER, SAYING: "These clothes are much better than the imported clothes because their quality is better since they were woven by hand. The market is not good these day. I will keep marketing traditional clothes and also telling people that they are not expensive." VARIOUS OF WOMAN IN SHOP THAT SELLS IMPORTED CLOTHES
- Embargoed: 16th October 2019 13:22
- Keywords: Traditional Somali fabrics cheap textile imports
- Location: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
- City: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
- Country: Somalia
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZELCGN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Tucked in one of the neighborhoods of Somalia's seaside capital Mogadishu, is Mohamed Nor's workshop.
Nor and his partners might be the last of their kind - weavers of the country's traditional fabric known as Alindi. There was a time when the bright-colored hand woven textile was favored amongst Somalis of all ages and backgrounds.
But decades of war, the adoption of western dressing by the youth, the influx of cheaper textiles, and the demand for second-hand clothes, have weavers like Abdulah Ali on the ropes.
"I have been working on this craft for forty years. I only earn a total of 50,000 Somali Shillings (US$2) each day. I do not know what to do with that money because it is not enough. I have bills for my family and if one of my kids were to get sick I cannot buy medicine for them. We are face a lot of problems while doing this job, but we do not know any other profession," Ali said.
Cheaper new and second-hand clothing is a multibillion-dollar industry in Africa. Most of the garments and textiles come in from Europe, China, and the United States.
USAID says their second-hand clothes industry keeps over 350,000 people in East Africa employed.
Somalia isn't suffering alone, many textile industries in the region have ground to a halt over the last 30 years as well.
"We decided to take up this work because we were unemployed. I do not know any other professions like masonry or carpentry. I only know how to weave, but there is less work now because cheaper clothes have flooded the market," said Nor.
Efforts by African countries like Somalia to tax imports in order to boost local production have been met with threats of reduced business by western countries like the U.S.
Owners of traditional fabric shops - just like the weavers - are confident that their product is superior and worth standing up for.
"These clothes are much better than the imported clothes because their quality is better since they were woven by hand. The market is not good these day. I will keep marketing traditional clothes and also telling people that they are not expensive," said Haji Abukar, who owns a clothing shop in the capital.
Also with militant group Al Shabaab fighting to overthrow the weak, U.N.-backed Somali government, initiatives to save Alindi and the livelihoods of the men who weave it, may come too late.
(Abdirahman Hussein, Okwi Okoh) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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