Africa-Press – Senegal. The first edition of a forum on the rônier at the service of crafts, opened on Saturday, for two days, in the village of Ndiobène, in the commune of Fandène, with the aim of highlighting an improved type of furniture made from rônier wood, the fruit of the innovation of the craftsman Aliou Thiaw.
Focused on the theme “the rônier at the service of crafts”, this forum is a forum to promote artistic crafts made from rônier, a heritage of the Serer community from Fandène to Pire, passing through Ndiakhaté. This type of wood is also worked in the South and in other parts of the country.
Aliou Thiaw, l’initiateur de cet évènement, précise que l’objectif est d’élever le rônier à un plus haut niveau, et donner de la visibilité aux petits artisans qui s’y activent.
The meeting recorded the presence of representatives of the chamber of commerce and the chamber of trades, the town hall of Fandène, but also relatives and friends of the initiator, as well as other craftsmen.
The chief of staff of the Minister of Handicrafts, Ousmane Diop, who officially opened the meeting, praised the preservation work accomplished by the Serer None community.
“The rônier is the nourishing sap of crafts” in Fandène, Lalane, Ndiobène, etc., he said, assuring the initiator of this forum of the support of the guardianship which, according to him, has already supported the organization of this meeting.
Jadis, les feuilles de rônier ne servaient qu’à réaliser les toitures des cases, c’est ensuite qu’a commencé la conception de meubles, de paniers, de vans, de chapeaux, etc. exposés le long de la route entre Thiès et Tivaouane.
Today, Aliou Thiaw has brought his touch to the promotion of this type of handicraft based on rônier. An exhibition-sale is organized on the sidelines of the forum, which is sponsored by Joséphine Ndione, president of the NGO Group for Research and Support for Women’s Initiatives (GREF), which has long worked to promote the rônier.
His creation based on rônier associated with wrought iron, glass, raffia and rattan, breaks with the traditional method of assembling benches and lounges in rônier, assembled with nails.
Thanks to a new technique which is based on the weaving of rônier leaves on an iron frame, he manufactures garden furniture, in particular chairs, armchairs, dining tables, lounges, swings, cradles. The tables are covered with glass and the armchairs with cushions.
Employing fifteen young people full time in his workshop, Thiaw sells his garden furniture mainly to hoteliers, but also to individuals looking for original and quality furniture. He says he is ready to share his know-how through training, in conjunction with the chamber of trades.
He would like the public authorities to support this type of craftsmanship through the construction of a showroom which will serve as a showcase for quality rônier creations. This will raise the quality of the craftsmen’s work to the top.
For the godmother, “the rônier financed the studies of many executives in the area”, including the mayor of Fandène, the minister Augustin Tine.
Faced with the multiple threats to the rônier’s economy, his NGO, in conjunction with many “son du rônier”, has initiated a reflection to safeguard this source of income for thousands of people. These dangers are linked to land pressure which sees many rôniers cut down to make way for plots for residential use, the drilling of boreholes which dry up the water table.
The initiator of the forum estimates at “fifteen million CFA francs” the revenue generated per day, by the rônier, on the Tivaouane-Thiès axis.
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