Twenty people from different weaving cooperatives across the country yesterday concluded a ten–day workshop in Kigali on banana fibre handcrafts.

The workshop that was organized by the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), aimed at training artisans to understand the features of banana fibre and review both manual and machine extraction.

People were taught appropriate dying and braiding of banana fibres and handicrafts making

The training workshop was organized by the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) and supported by UTEXRWA (a local textile industry) and PPPMER, a body that supports small and medium enterprises

Participants were awarded with certificates at the end of the training and the best performers rewarded.

Rajendran Ranganathan, the Managing Director UTEXRWA, urged the participants to disseminate the knowledge and skills to local people who are involved in handcrafts making,
He hailed them for their tireless work and the patience they showed during the ten-day training period

"We have come to realize that we are sitting on a gold mine; these trainees are expected to pass on the skills acquired to their colleagues back home” said Jean Damascene Gatabazi, the Director General of WDA.

Mukabunane Odette, one of the trainees and the best performer, thanked the management of WDA for organizing the workshop

Efforts to introduce the technology of converting banana fibre into fabrics started way back in 2008 when President Paul Kagame invited Japan’s Tama Art University (TAU) to help initiate it in the country.

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