Sunday 6 July 2014

Adire business, goldmine yet untapped


Adire


ADA DIKE

One of the timeless fabrics produced within Nigeria but adorned within and outside Nigerian, Adire, can help boost Nigeria’s economy if adequate funds are investing in it.
Locally produced by mostly Yoruba women in the western part of Nigeria, Adire, meaning ‘tie and dye’ has recently taken a new dimension as local textile designers have upgraded their arts by producing different designs which can be used to make both formal (Skirt suit/men’s tops) and traditional wears of all beautiful styles.
In fact many have testified that Adire has a wide appeal to customers in different parts of the world. This can be seen by the number of Nigerians and foreigners who visit many markets and centres Adire is sold in Lagos such as: Akerele and Aguda in Surulere, Balogun market and Sabo, Yaba, among others. Most stalls in Lagos are filled with different Adire fabrics.
At a building opposite the National Library, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos, an array of designs and styles are on display which attracts passersby and their prices are reasonably fair for people to afford it.
No wonder many families, office workers and church department mostly use Adire as their uniforms. For instncae, in March this year, all staff of Daily Newswatch newspaper, adorned beautiful Adire cloths during the celebration of one the newspaper’s one year anniversary.
Some designers’ works reflect their rich cultural heritage and they also tell fantastic stories of their past histories through their tie and dye works.
A visit to some of the Adire and indigo-dyed-cloths producers showed that lack of funding has hindered some of them to export Adire fabrics in large quantities.
One of the popular Adire designers, Chief Mrs. Nike Okundaye, has continued to reposition Nigeria and Africa’s rich cultural heritage in people’s lives through her work as an artist. She was nicknamed ‘Mama Adire’ because of her beautiful designs, moreover, being the first notable Batik and Adire designer that has traversed many parts of the world, promoting Adire and other culture artworks from the shores of Nigeria, she has galleries in Lagos and Abuja and also an art institute in Oshogbo, Osun State where assorted Adire designs are being sold with other creative artworks. “We have held so many exhibitions in my gallery since we opened. Some featured my works and other Nigerian and foreign artists,” Okundaye explained.
Adire, according to Okundaye, is the traditional Yoruba hand painted cloth on which patterns are made by tying and stitching with raffia or cotton thread, or by using chicken feathers to paint cassava paste on the cloth which then acts as a resist dye, much like the wax method used on the batiks.
Describing the processes of making indigo, she said: “it is made by burning cocoa pods to ashes, then filtering water through the ashes into a pot in which indigo leaves are placed and left to ferment in the sun for seven to ten days before using as a dye.”
Okundaye, who began her sojourn into arts when she was six years old, hails from a family known for producing art and craft. Adire has carried the Ogidi Ijumu, Kogi State born artist to many countries of the world.
She however, revealed that funding has continued to be her major challenge and appealed to the Federal government to come to the aid of the Nigerian artists so that tourists will be attracted to visit and see Nigeria’s rich heritage, arts, which includes Adire. “I want the Federal Government to invest money in the ministry of Art and Culture so that we can have street art and heritage sites like Adire site in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Indigo site in Osogbo, Osun State and bigger dye pits in Kano,” she said.
One of the producers, Bolanle Ojo, provided an insight into the processes Adire is prepared by saying that the first is to draw some designs, tie them with pebbles or any other objects to form a sequential design, depending on the design, pour a dye solution into a drum or bowl,
then soak the fabric in a dye solution (‘Aro’ in Yoruba parlance) for some minutes.
“After some minutes, raise the fabric from the bowl, leave it for some time before rinsing it with water. Then dry it,” she said.
She has been producing Adire for over 20 years in Oshodi, Lagos, and of the opinion that Adire business is a lucrative if the government to shows interest in investing in it.
She hinted that she has made tremendous profit from her craft since the time General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd) administration banned the importation of foreign materials, but added that most Adire producers use materials such as Brocade, white linen materials and so on which are not produced in Nigeria thereby making it difficult for them to produce it at a cheaper cost.
Most Adire dealers are mostly small and medium scale business men and women due to inadequate finance. This has hindered many of the Adire producers from increasing the quantity they produce.
A middle aged woman called Iya Kikelomo while sharing her experience in Adire making said government should introduce measures that will help to promote local technology of producing Adire and its creativity. She implored the government to provide the enabling environment by unbanning the materials for Adire which are mostly imported, create trainings centres and unban some chemicals used in making Adire.
Daily Newswatch gathered that most of these products are smuggled into the country and are sold at expensive rates, which affect the cost of production of Adire and affect sales.


Quote
Adire is the traditional Yoruba hand painted cloth on which patterns are made by tying and stitching with raffia or cotton thread, or by using chicken feathers to paint cassava paste on the cloth which then acts as a resist dye, much like the wax method used on the batiks




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