AGBOZUME KENTE WEAVERS ASSOCIATION

QUESTIONNAIRE

*For our purpose, Agbozume area comprises Sόme, Klikor and neighbouring Anlo communities.

*The questionnaire relates to former kete weavers and weavers currently practicing the craft.

* The questionnaire was adopted in individual interviews without the presence of other respondents.

* Date of interview: 29 December 2021.

What is your name?

Kwaku Ahiavordi.

How old are you?

35 years.

Where do you live?

Bayikor.

What is your major occupation?

Kete weaving.

How long have you been weaving?

About 26 years.

Why did you choose kete weaving as your major occupation?

Weaving is one of the lucrative sources of employment in my community.

How did you learn the craft?

I learnt it from my father.

What type(s) of kete do you weave?

Kpe-evee vↄ, siɖikivↄ, aɖanu vↄ (design kete).

Do you weave on order, or you sell the product at Agbozume market?

I do both.

If you weave on order, describe the process.

After the agreement on the type of kete and the design, I take part-payment to purchase the materials for the work to start. After the job is done then, the rest of the money is paid.

What raw materials do you use in weaving?

Yarn: cotton, dye yarn, original silk.

How do you acquire the yarn for kete weaving?

I buy them at Agbozume market.

Do you use the yarn kadada in weaving?

Yes.

What types of designs and patterns do you weave in kete?

Most of the designs I weave do not have names.

Why do you adopt those designs?

They are beautiful and customers prefer them.

How did you get to know the designs and patterns?

I learnt it from friends while I was weaving kete in Nigeria.

How old are those designs and patterns that you weave in kete?

About 10 years.

How popular are they? Do people of Agbozume and neighbouring areas wear kete with those designs and patterns?

Very popular, and people around here wear them.

Have you invented any design or pattern in kete?

Yes. I remember back in Nigeria in the year 2015 I invented a new design. I saw the design on a carpet when I visited one customer in Ikeja, Lagos. I took a picture of it and decided to try it in kete. The customer liked the design and it became popular among kete weavers around the area. Unfortunately, I do not have any picture of the design, neither did I give it any name.

What should we know about kete designs and patterns and their development over the years in Agbozume?

A lot of current kete weavers who travelled to Nigeria and returned came with different types of new and beautiful designs. An example is damax which is an invention by one of our people who had visited Nigeria to weave kete. Also, hardly would a kete weaver conjure a design just from the blue. Normally we do it based on similar pattern or designs we see in magazines, scarfs, books etc.

Is kpe-evee vɔ woven today in Agbozume and neighbouring areas?

Yes, at places like Bayikↄ and Kpedzakope

What challenges do you face in practicing your craft? How do you deal with them?

At times, I experience general bodily pains, especially my waist, and I use ointment and pain killers to reduce the pains.

Are there any obstacles discouraging the kete industry in Agbozume area?

The first one has to do with the frequent increase in the prices of yarn. This does not correspond to the prices of our products. The price of kete remains the same for a long time before something little is added, meanwhile the cost of buying the yarn goes up almost every week.

The issue of bojaboja (middlemen) is a headache to almost every kete weaver in Agbozume. Sometimes I personally pick up quarrels with some of them. They extort money from weavers. They have a new method of exploiting weavers. In this method, customers will send money to them to buy the products and send to them because of Covid-19. They will wait and pretend as if kete is expensive. When they realize that some weavers at the market cannot sell their products and cannot even get transport fare back home, they (bojaboja) will begin to buy the product at very unreasonable prices and at the end the weaver lose a lot while they make a lot of money.

In your opinion, how should those problems be resolved?

We need people who can invest by establishing a yarn producing factory near Agbozume to help weavers stay in business.

Then also, the bojaboja should be kicked out of the market system. This is a very serious problem which needed serious attention as early as possible. We are appealing to anyone concerned to help us address this canker.