Nipate
Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Globalcitizen12 on July 30, 2017, 03:20:17 PM
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why cannt those jambo kenya type of tshirts be made with modern materials.. right now the garbage being sold in nairobi is just useless after one wash the think becomes a brick, it is hemmed with sindano and makes wearing it a nightmare.. I had a friend trying to get me to help them sell those curios and crafts being manufactured in kenya.. that shit has no utility value and very few Americans would even bother with such awful products.. I usually test Kenya goods with local americans and you can tell how pathetic something is when you give it to a kid and they do not even bother using it.. Do not even get me started with sandals.. Jua kali is a curse
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I see it this way: jua kali crafts are cultural products which is worth serious consideration as an export commodity. The right arm of state can promote cultural exports. People (including MNCs) use kikoys, the Maasai brand, etc in their marketing the culture docket can identify and brand these artifacts - uniquely Kenyan stuff value and promote them. The athletes hired in Qatar, etc are offered poor deals on their own music artists struggle to find overseas market - curio guys the same.
Crafts are a latent natural asset. Very under-leveraged. I think what lacks is organization. Bollywood and Nollywood had governmental input at least in the beginning. Government is better placed to facilitate planning & mobilize & motivate the insurgent craftists, artists and entrepreneurs.
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I see it this way: jua kali crafts are cultural products which is worth serious consideration as an export commodity. The right arm of state can promote cultural exports. People (including MNCs) use kikoys, the Maasai brand, etc in their marketing the culture docket can identify and brand these artifacts - uniquely Kenyan stuff value and promote them. The athletes hired in Qatar, etc are offered poor deals on their own music artists struggle to find overseas market - curio guys the same.
Crafts are a latent natural asset. Very under-leveraged. I think what lacks is organization. Bollywood and Nollywood had governmental input at least in the beginning. Government is better placed to facilitate planning & mobilize & motivate the insurgent craftists, artists and entrepreneurs.
All true. I don't know if you remember this story from a few years ago:
In a recent report with Bloomberg News, New Zealander, Ron Layton has teamed up with Maasai elders in an effort to educate the Maasai people on copyright, patents and trademarks. Layton, who specializes in advising organizations on copyright issues, estimates six companies have each made more than $100 million in annual sales during the last decade using the Maasai name.
http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/11/maasai-want-royalties-use-name/
You can be sure that the Maasai aren't seeing any of that annual $100 million.
GoK could have helped in numerous ways---e.g. with trademarks etc.---but has never been bothered. In the USA, the Navajo, for example, have been quite upfront in chasing those who use their name. The last skirmish was with Urban Outfitters:
Nearly five years after the Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit against Urban Outfitters claiming the clothing retailer appropriated the Navajo name and tribal patterns, the two parties have reached an agreement.
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The tribe holds at least 10 trademarks on its name, covering clothing, footwear, household products, textiles and online retail sales. It has used the name Navajo since 1894 and has 86 trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/native-news/navajo-nation-and-urban-outfitters-reach-agreement-on-appropriation/
Kenyans are late starters in this sort of thing, but even then so far, GoK has done bugger-all for the Masaai. It has taken some foreign mzungu and the help of Uncle Sam to even get started:
For the last four years, with help from a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Layton and ole Tialolo have been diligently working on their case.
Other than the obvious bureaucratic stuff, the government could help in numerous ways that would lead to more creativity in the "branded" products.
And Globalcitizen12 does have a point on quality: those who are making a real killing from things like the Masai brand are mostly producing things of very high quality; shoddily hacked, off-the-street carvings or whatever don't seem to go that far, regardless of their "cultural value".