All is set for this year’s annual Handicraft Excellence Award competitions slated for next month, François Kanimba, the Minister for Trade and Industry, has said. 

This year the awards are being organised by Indashykirwa Craft Association under the Handicraft Excellence Award Programme (HEAP), he added. The trade and industry ministry has been organising the awards and this will be the fourth time the competition will be conducted. 

Kanimba is optimistic that this year competitors will showcase better products and skills compared to the previous years, saying most artisans have undergone training to improve their skills. 

The awards are aimed at giving talented artisans a platform to harness their talents and improve their skills and product quality. 

The HEAP programme also links artisans (with quality products) to regional and international markets.

Kanimba said the competition is open to individual handicraft makers, who belong to co-operatives. Designers and other registered handicraft organisations that are involved in tailoring, leather tanning, as well as making of home accessories, beverages, jewels, ceramics and pottery will participate.

The minister said this year’s event will have three main components; the selection process, which will start on June 16-17 at the district level. The second component will focus on training the shortlisted artisans from June 18-19 to sharpen their skills and enable them make quality products. 

The training is also aimed at helping the contestants understand issues like intellectual property rights, tax law and how to access development finance.

"The event will climax with an exhibition on June 20 at Ikaze Showroom, Saint-Michel in Kigali during which the best artisan will be announced,” Kanimba said.

The top 10 artisans at the national competitions are given trophies, certificates and other incentives like specialised training opportunities.

The programme is based on the Vision 2020 that seeks to increase off-farm jobs to 50 per cent of the employable population. 

The handicraft sector generated over Rwf60m in 2012. The industry has created jobs for the rural population, especially women, youth and people with disabilities.

"Two years ago, there were about 22,000 Rwandans employed in different handicraft activities, but the sector has expanded, thanks partly to the ministry’s support,” Kanimba said. 

He said the government has set up handicraft production centres in 27 districts, where artisans work and showcase their products. 

Last year, competitions at district level attracted about 13,500 artisans, but 217 of these made it to the national level competition. 

Paulin Rugero, the president of Indashykirwa Craft Association, said most of their products are bought by tourists. 

He said the group made over Rwf600,000 during the just-concluded African Development Bank Kigali meetings last week.

He added that plans were in place to boost the group’s production capacity and ensure items meet international standards to be competitive on the export market.