African craftswomen explore Indian market, craft traditions

New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) For visiting African artisans, the local crafts market offers an opportunity for increased collaborations between craftspeople from India and the African nations. "We began the New Year in India and have been completely overwhelmed with the amazing handmade crafts present here. It feels like I am at a buffet table and it is a feast," says Eugenie Drakes, an entreprenuer from South Africa. Drake is part of a delegation of 18 craftspeople from five countries of Africa who are here to showcase their wares at the 25th annual Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar and also to learn new skills from Indian crafts traditions. Representatives from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa are participating in the crafts exchange event from January 1-15 that is being supported by India's Ministry of External Affairs. "I met many Indian artistes in Ethiopia with whom I reconnected with here in Delhi. Initially I wanted to take back a lot of things from here but now am concentrating only on shawls. I have never seen anything like these shawls before," says Drake who participated in the India-Africa summit in May 2011 in Ethiopia attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Embroidery artist Lachhuben from the Kutch region of the western Indian Gujarat state who was part of the Indian delegation to Ethiopia is supplying richly emboidered shawls to Drake who says she is optimistic of its popularity among local and Indian communities in Africa. Rahab Kenana, from Kenya who is displaying traditional crafts of the Massai tribe, says she is impressed with the appreciation by the Indians. "We have been traditionally sourcing our beads from India for a long time now. Previously we used shells and dried seeds etc and coloured them," says Kenana whose organisation supports over 200 women and youth from Kenya and Tanzania to produce massai jewellery and link them to global markets. Kenana, who studied in India, says she would be thrilled at opportunities to collaborate with local artisans. Jennifer Mulli also from Kenya who runs a family business that produces leather items with colourful and intricate bead work says her collection of leather bags and necklaces at her stall had completely sold out within two days of the fair. "We convert traditional items into contemporay designs that are fashionable and appeal to different markets. For our clientele in America we produce items with soft and subtle colours, and for our African and Arabian markets the approach is different," says Mulli. "We have a large Indian community in South Africa and it is either a distictinctly western look or a very African look. It would be phenomenal if we could achieve a fusion look with inspiration from Indian artisans," says Eugene Drake. Also, Drake whose Johhanesburg-based organisation helps find talented crafts people and exposes their work to the upper-end of the market to create a sustainable income for them, says she would be looking for collaborations in fashion with India's Ahmedabad based National Institute of Design. "We have a lot of chemical dyes in Africa so for me natural dyes is something that I am interested in," says Drake. Beaded jewellery, embroidery, leather works and metal crafts, the fare from Africa are popular at the annual crafts fair in New Delhi. PTI Caption for pic: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit looking at craft jewellery and basketry at the Uganda's stall at the 25th Annual Dastkari Haat Craft Bazaar at Dilli Haat in New Delhi. PTI Photo