Include Kente weaving in the 1D1F Policy — Bonwire chiefs

Nana Bobie Ansah II, the Chief of Bonwire Traditional Area in the Ejisu Municipality, has appealed to the Government to include the Kente cloth weaving in the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative.

This would help position the industry to play a leading role in the socio-economic development of the area, he said.

Nana Ansah said the Kente weaving industry employed more than 75 per cent of the people of Bonwire and the nearby communities, and it was important the Government came in to provide the needed support by facilitating the establishment of a factory to produce the yawn to boost production.

It is also crucial for the Government to support the local weavers in the marketing, distribution as well as the branding of the indigenous Kente, which had now become a national cloth and could be found in both the local and international markets.

Addressing a grand durbar to climax this year’s Kente Festival at Bonwire, Nana Ansah said the chiefs and the people had already released a land for that project.

He said the people were committed to preserving the original designs of the indigenous fabric and position it on the global map to attract investments for an improved socio-economic life of the area.

The event was on the theme: ‘‘Harnessing ‘Kente’ for Sustainable Economic Development,’’ and attracted huge number of people including business people and foreign tourists.

“Setting up a Kente factory would not only open up job opportunities for the young people and lift many out of poverty, but would also enhance the tourism sector and good image of the country, since Kente is a national identification and has a lot to tell about the history, tradition and culture of our dear nation,’’ Nana Ansah noted.

Madam Beatrice Serwa Derkyi, the District Chief Executive, reiterated government’s readiness to support proposals that would help enhance the socio-economic development of the area.

She said considering the ‘Kente’ business as part of the 1D1F would be in the right direction and assured the people of government’s preparedness to consider the proposal.

She urged the people to patronise the fabric to create a huge market for it, adding that Kente was a brand and a symbol of the nation that everybody should be proud of.