| The 10th International Arts, Crafts and Trade Fair (SIAO – Salon International de l’Artisanat de Ouagadougou) opened on October 27 in Ouagadougou. 30 countries, 2 500 artists and craftsmen, 200 professional buyers and over 400 000 visitors are expected at this cultural and business gathering. For most of the visitors from the capital it is the festive mood that attracts most. For those in the stalls, exhibiting home made products, crafts and works of art and for professional buyers and sellers, it is the business opportunity that is the more important.
Participants from the arts, crafts and trade fall into three main categories: one category definitely targets local customers, presenting home made food products. There are many women’s associations using local supplies and making for example cereal formula for infants (Misola flour), soaps and oils made from karité or neem plants; soy biscuits. This year there will also be rice from the two largest rice-growing areas, the plains of Bagré and Sourou. The most interesting aspect as regards rice is the fact that this time one can finally find parboiled rice, either in small attractive packages or in large 25kg bags. This parboiled rice of good quality can indeed compete with Cathwel rice! This year Mr Tomojema, who takes part in every SIAO Fair, is putting on sale a new product, a portable folding oven that can boil batches of 50kg of rice and comes at a price which is affordable (75 000 CFA francs) for associations of women, who make their living on such work.
A second category, (of which many are artists rather than crafts- or tradesmen) is mostly geared towards an international clientele. Here one finds sculptors (of wood or bronze), craftsmen of fine leather goods and fashion designers. The latter have their sights set on local customers with a solid bank account!
Some are not craftsmen but industrial business companies in cotton processing, such as Filsah and Fasotex.
African literature is also present at the fair.
This year the general theme is “African Arts and Crafts in Fair Trade”. Thus there are a number of participants who deal in fair trade products and some NGOs who work to promote fair trade.
Furthermore there are national organisations, such as the Burkina Faso Farmers Confederation (la Confédération Paysanne du Faso, CPF) which is lobbying to eradicate injustice in trade in general and in international trade in particular. Therefore the CPF is indeed making its presence seen and heard at the 10th SIAO Fair. In its stalls a number of farm products are also being put on display. But even more importantly, the CPF is collecting signatures for a petition that will go to the Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and the European Union. The petition requests the Heads of State to redirect their trade negotiations towards Economic Partnership Agreements, which honour the West African agricultural policy and its principle of food sovereignty.
While observing visitors signing this petition I came to wonder: Will the SIAO Fair be able to withstand the EPAs? Who will be exhibiting at the Fair in 2020? If EPAs that are lined up according to the wishes of the EU are signed, one can foresee that those of the artists and craftspeople who are already export-oriented today will survive. But all those who are attempting to introduce new products or set up small processing plants in the food sector, will be wiped out.
Will there be any festive mood then? The only ones to attend will be the 200 business buyers and ordinary people content with a bit of daydreaming or window-shopping in front of the fancy articles and beautiful shirts, which are out of reach for the purse of most of today’s visitors.
Therefore you should come around to the 10th SIAO Fair – nobody can tell how many more there will be! And take the opportunity to sign the CPF petition!
Pictures, with comments, from the SIAO Fair can be seen at the following site:
http://www.abcburkina.net/vu_vu_fr5/imag_44/photos_siao_l.htm Koudougou, 3 November 2006
Maurice Oudet
Director, SEDELAN |
View from the South