I could not help but take a picture--not just to tell a story--but to run a mini-commentary on Ghana's basket-making industry.
I did a quick search, and read that Rattan Baskets are mostly-produced in Indonesia.
At a time when basket-weavers are creating some 1050 jobs in the Upper East region of Ghana only in April this year, it beggars belief that the Lebanese-owned Palace Shopping Mall is selling Indonesian-made baskets, without a trace of the indigenous, Ghanaian-made ones!!
3 comments:
I'm glad you pointed this out. We can't really blame the Lebanese merchant because they are in business to make money. We should blame the elite Ghanaians and middle class who buy these foreign imports. This is how a country progresses. It's amazing that the people who have all the Harvard and Oxford are the worst when it comes to patronizing made-in-ghana products. We as a country need a lesson on how money works and moves around.
Oh don't get me started. How much import tax is levied on products imported that we also locally manufacture?
Revenue for the state? That's where we need to be looking.
Mike
I stumbled across this blog while surfing the net, and felt it neccessary to comment on this post.
Allow me to introduce myself - I am the owner of Palace Hypermarket (yes, the Lebanese man you are talking about), and let me be the first to say I would LOVE to have some Ghanaian made products (not only baskets) in my store.
The fact is, we have rarely ever turned down a chance to work with any Ghanaian manufacturer or producer, no matter how big or small. If the quality of the product is appropriate, and the price is right, I have gladly put the products on my shelves for sale.
Most of these products have been juices, nuts, shittu, palm oil, and the like, but I have been actively searching for Ghana-made household and decorative producers that I can work with, which include things like the baskets you commented about, art by ghana artists, even ghana made furniture.
The problem, however, is that there is no database, or center I call that I know of that can direct me to such companies.
As I stated above, I dont remember ever turning down someone offering me to sell Ghana made products of the right quality and price, and I certainly would be delighted to have more of these items on my shelves.
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