- Title: NIGERIA: Nigeria works to revive ancient textile trade and revamp tourism
- Date: 17th April 2014
- Summary: KANO, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) STREET SCENES VARIOUS OF ENTRANCE TO KOFAR MATA DYE PITS VARIOUS OF MEN DYEING CLOTH IN DYE PIT VARIOUS OF ABDULLAHI UBAH, FABRIC TRADER, (SOUNDBITE) (Hausa) ABDULLAHI UBAH, FABRIC TRADER, SAYING: "We have too many problems here, the biggest problem is a lack of market for us to display or sell our products. We have been crying for help to be able to trade our products and if the government could have assisted us even a little, we would be better off today in this business. This a business that needs patience and we would be better off with some assistance. Truly, if the government had heard our cry and assisted us I would probably for example have two houses now and maybe rent them out. I would be a landlord right now. There's no progress here. Any country where there is progress, the government is always interested in identifying and supporting businesses even by helping traders export some of products. We have been crying out for our products to be marketed abroad, we would be very successful by now." VARIOUS OF MAN MIXING DYE IN A PIT VARIOUS OF MAN SQUEEZING OUT DYED CLOTH MAN LAYING OUT CLOTH TO DRY VARIOUS OF YUSUF SANI SAED, FABRIC TRADER,, TYING SHIRT TO BE DYED (SOUNDBITE) (English) YUSUF SANI SAED, FABRIC TRADER, SAYING: "At the present time, at this present time we have at least more than 80 youths working right here at this place and all of them, some, they're married, some, they get house, some, they do a lot of things, they have motor bikes, they have a lot of different things so what do you think that if the government brings some financial assistance to those youths, do you think that they are not going to invite all their friends to come here and join?" VARIOUS OF HARUNA BABA, CUSTOMER, SHOPPING FOR A DYED SHIRT SAED PUTTING MONEY IN HIS POCKET (SOUNDBITE) (English) HARUNA BABA, BUSINESSMAN, SAYING: "If you go to the market today, you cannot see like this one, this one is native one, it's native dye it's not modern dye so if you go to the market, it's artificial dyeing like green, yellow, purple and others and this shirt the way how we bought this one because I'm wearing.. if I'm wearing this one, if I'm going any place they cannot see somebody to see any shirt like this one that is why how we come to Kofar Mata and buy the shirt." MEN PUSHING CARTS DOWN STREET CARS DRIVING PAST ROAD EXTERIOR OF KANO STATE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE INDUSTRY AND COOPERATIVES, BUILDING VARIOUS OF ABUBAKAR NUHU, COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND COOPERATIVES, KANO STATE, WORKING AT HIS DESK (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABUBAKAR NUHU, COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND COOPERATIVES, KANO STATE, SAYING: "We are also working on ensuring that the dye pit area is improved and by so doing we know that the economy of Kano will improve in terms of the number of visitors that will come into Kano and you know when visitors are coming into Kano, some of them will go to hotels so to us cost is nothing in terms of this, it is what we need to do as government to be able to support that industry and we are doing that in any other sectors so it's minimal and if you look at the amount of money we spent getting the place or improving the place you will see it is near to nothing in terms of the benefits that will come." VARIOUS OF RENOVATED WELLS AT KOFAR MATA DYE PITS VARIOUS OF DYED CLOTHS HANG OUT TO DRY
- Embargoed: 2nd May 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Arts,Economy,People
- Reuters ID: LVAO31FAGGE4TIJOWPA56DCXAP8
- Story Text: Nigeria's northern Kano state has a rich history as an ancient trading city that once drew thousands of tourists from all over the world.
The Kofar Mata dye pits - said to be over 500 years old are some of the popular sites for visitors.
For centuries, the dye pits provided a location for traders to add colour to fabrics and produce various traditional textile art for sale.
The business was once a thriving trade when the Nigerian emirate was a centre of trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold for the city, but over the years demand for the dyed cloth has gone down as other African fabrics compete in the market.
Many dye pits are also in a state of disrepair, with about 20 still functional, a drop from over 120 pits in past years.
Abdullahi Ubah, a 72-year-old fabric trader has worked in the business of dye since he was seven.
He says the sector has been neglected for too long and more needs to be done to return business to profitability.
"This is a business that needs patience and we would be better off with some assistance. Truly, if the government had heard our cry and assisted us I would probably for example have two houses now and maybe rent them out. I would be a landlord right now. There's no progress here. Any country where there is progress, the government is always interested in identifying and supporting businesses even by helping traders export some of products. We have been crying out for our products to be marketed abroad, we would be very successful by now," he said.
A pit can dye 50 yards of deep colour material and 100 yards of light colour.
Founded in the 14th century, the Kofar Mata pits are said to be the oldest in Africa and are the only ones left in Kano's dye trade which once included 13 pit complexes.
Located several kilometres from the royal palace, the city's indigo fabric produced here was once adorned by Kano's traditional rulers and were considered a symbol of wealth and nobility.
The royal guards still wear them during special occasions like the Durbar festival.
Dyers like 32-year-old Yusuf Sani Saed take pride in knowing they have helped preserve traditional methods of dyeing cloth.
The father of four says the trade can be a great source of income for many jobless youth if well organised and funded.
"At the present time, at this present time we have at least more than 80 youths working right here at this place and all of them, some, they're married, some, they get house, some, they do a lot of things, they have motor bikes, they have a lot of different things so what do you think that if the government brings some financial assistance to those youths, do you think that they are not going to invite all their friends to come here and join?" said Yusuf.
Dyers make about 5 US dollars a day and on average, work three days a week.
Haruna Bappa, a businessman based in Kano says he prefers to buy dyed shirts at Kofar Mata.
"If you go to the market, today, you cannot see like this one, this one is native one, it's native dye it's not modern dye so if you go to the market, it's artificial dyeing like green, yellow, purple and others and this shirt the way how we bought this one because I'm wearing.. if I'm wearing this one, if I'm going any place they cannot see somebody to see any shirt like this one that is why how we come to Kofar Mata and buy the shirt," he said.
Abubakar Nuhu, the commissioner of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives in Kano state says plans are in place to organise the traders into cooperative groups so they can easily access markets for their cloths.
"We are also working on ensuring that the dye pit area is improved and by so doing we know that the economy of Kano will improve in terms of the number of visitors that will come into Kano and you know when visitors are coming into Kano, some of them will go to hotels so to us cost is nothing in terms of this, it is what we need to do as government to be able to support that industry and we are doing that in any other sectors so it's minimal and if you look at the amount of money we spent getting the place or improving the place you will see it is near to nothing in terms of the benefits that will come," Nuhu said.
But insecurity remains a major challenge in marketing the practice and the area.
A five-year-old Boko Haram insurgency has brought lawlessness to swathes of the north region, killing hundreds of people in recent months.
The government says it is working on improving security but analysts say so far, it appears to be losing its grip on the northeast region. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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