Government to set up Kente Village

Government is considering setting up a Kente Craft Village to boost the production of the Ghanaian indigenous cloth for both local and international markets.

The proposal, put together by the Royal Kente Weavers and Sellers Association, was presented to President Akufo-Addo by the group’s representatives at the Jubilee House, Accra on Wednesday.

The plan, which targeted high kente production in the Western, Ahafo, Oti, Central and Eastern regions, aimed at training some 5,200 persons between the ages 15 to 24 on the art of kente weaving to sustain the Kente tradition and its allied industry and to help promote it as part of Ghanaian cultural heritage.

Receiving the proposal from the group, President Akufo-Addo Addo said the Kente cloth embodied the rich identity of Ghana and had over the decades become visible on the world stage, particularly among people of black descent in the diaspora where it had become a symbol of connection to Africa.

He cited the adornment of kente vestments by the members of the United States Senate and Congress as they solidarised with a black man whose life was taken unlawfully, saying the Kente cloth was a source of pride and dignity beyond Ghana.

The President said the proposal was noteworthy and would be given the needed attention by government.

He assured the group that government would lend support to help raise the level of Kente production.

Kwami Nyami, leader of the association who expressed appreciation for the audience granted the group by the President, appealed to government to give the needed attention to the kente weaving industry as could create jobs for the teeming youth of Ghana.