Africa-Press – Seychelles. I sit in the audience and listen to a young woman talk about her passion for crafts. Through his words, he not only inspired a group of students who were present in the room but also me.
Mariette Dine was among the four guests that came to talk about handicrafts and inspire young people to take a career in this sector after their studies and also explain the role and importance of this industry in our country’s economy.
This is because of an activity that was organized to mark the International Crafts Day recently. It was through his words of motivation that I decided to deepen more about the craft and I discovered a lot.
Mariette is an example for many. He is a young man who I can describe as very creative and filled with many innovative ideas to take his passion forward.
“My inspiration for me to come into handicrafts is related to two key sectors – the blue economy and the textile and fashion sector. The blue economy is related to my study of environmental science that I did at the University of Seychelles. The aim is to try to bring organic solutions to reduce plastic pollution in salt water and one way to do this is by using more organic things,” he said.
The role of crafts
“Crafts have a great role in the country’s economy. We need it every day because almost everything we use in our lives, we need a craftsman to make.”
Unfortunately, the handicraft products that we have been used to for a long time are disappearing. But we have the opportunity to put the country ahead of where it was in the tourism industry, Manzmel Dine added.
That’s a bit interesting… Invasive mix, banana and gum
“I’m using bananas as well as invasive weeds and we’re targeting one at a time. We can do one or two experiments and we can get certain products with the last year,” he said.
“There is also a study on humans that is being done to be able to look at different ways to produce biodegradable plastic that can be used as a substitute for the ones we are currently using.”
The machine that we are using is one that we are using to clean bananas to get hard ones to work with, he said.
The invasive species is being used as an alternative resource for cattle, which is a more limited resource.
“We are having problems in conservation to control invasive species, so this is a way to help in this process. In conservation, it is sometimes difficult to get the money needed to continue doing these projects to remove these bonds. So if we can add value to these invasive plants where people can use them to make things such as handicrafts, that would help in this conservation process,” he said.
“Invasive grass is a resource that is abundant and easy to access. It is an opportunity that can help push our economy forward and with this innovation will help give the craft sector a new identity. It will also help relieve pressure on endemic resources.”
Vision for craftsmanship
“I hope to see a craft sector rise with a modern face mixed with our tradition to ensure that our identity as a Seychellois is preserved, keeping a link to the past and one to the future,” he said.
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