A total of 30 co-operatives of Artisans drawn from across the country are benefiting from a threeyear capacity building project through the chamber of art, craft and artisans. In a bid to empower artisans in the country and scale up the quality of their products and services to enable them trade profitably in global markets, the PSF Chamber of Craft, Art and Artisans, in partnership with the Shared Interest Foundation, Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa (COFTA) developed the 3-year project worth £235, 998 (about Rwf194m) that is being funded by a United Kingdom based Non-Government Organisation called “Big Lottery Fund”. This saw the establishment of Rwanda Federation for Alternative Trade (RWAFAT) in June 2007, as one of COFTA’s country networks operating under the principles of Fair Trade. The overall vision is to support the eradication of poverty in Rwanda through development and support of effective and sustainable income generation from community based business working within principles of fair trade. The COFTA network is now in 24 African countries, and there’re similar undertakings in all the continents of the world,grouped under one umbrella called International Fair Trade Association (IFAT).

In a recent interview with the Rwanda project coordinator Mr. Donatien Mungwarareba he revealed that 60 participants of two representatives each from a total of 30 cooperatives benefited from trainings that were conducted between 25th and 29th January and between 2nd and 7th February 2009 at La Pallise Hotel, Nyandungu—on the outskirts of Kigali City.

They were trained in various business skills, including among others; customer care, business plan writing, marketing skills, basic accounting skills and time management. He explained that trainees were categorized in tiers depending on their respective business profiles. The first tier included representatives of five (5) advanced cooperatives involved in export of handicrafts. The second tier included representatives of 15 cooperatives and the third tier included representatives of 10 cooperatives who are generally start-ups in the artisan business. Since most artisans get their raw materials from forests and swamps, the Rural Environment and Development Organisation (REDO) was also brought on board to sensitize the participants on how to strike a balance between making money and conserving the environment. In a related development, under the same project another long term training of 16 Masters Trainers kicked off in October last year and is expected to end in March 2009. According to plan, each graduate will work with two cooperatives to do thorough business health checks and counseling of these cooperatives and associations. Master trainers will be paid by the project in the short-run, but will eventually turn into consultants and start working with artisans on a day to day basis. This is all aimed at transforming all cooperatives and associations of artisans in the country into being export-oriented. The project is working closely with the PSF Business Development Services (BDS) Program because the officers at the BDS centers are in closer contact with these associations and cooperatives of artisans. When the project expires after 3 years, Mr. Mungwarareba believes RWAFAT will have gained all the experience and expertise required to develop other similar projects to continue empowering artisans in the country. Reports from Ministry of Trade and Industry indicated that about 420 associations comprising 7,113 organized craftsmen are active. An estimated 100,000 people may be employed in the handicrafts industry, contributing to the national economy and in the fight against poverty.