Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister has cut the sod for commencement of work on construction of a Kente Village at Kpetoe in the Agotime-Ziope Distirct.
The GHC2.4 million project with a craft market is in line with “government’s one district, one factory” policy and expected to be turned into a kente Weaving factory after its completion in four years with a target on the international market.
The project would make it possible for clients to engage and buy directly from the over 2,000 active weavers in the district and reactivate the industry with focus on quality control.
Dr. Letsa described kente as a hidden treasure and expressed the hope that the facility would lift kente weaving into a higher pedestal and make the industry competitive.
He pledged the readiness of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council to ensure that the project was completed on schedule to help reduce unemployment and poverty in the area.
He commended the Agotime traditional area for keeping the kente weaving industry alive through the annual kente festival celebration and said the Kente Village would tap into the tourism potentials of the area and link the District to other parts of the world.
Nene Nuer Keteku III, Paramount Chief of Agotime in a speech read on his behalf said the Kente Village would project the cultural value of the royal fabric.
Mr Eddie Akottey, Chairman, 2017 Kente Festival Planning Committee said the project would “stem the rural-urban migration axis” in the District and tap into the commercial value of the Kente Festival celebration.
Agotime is said to have one of the largest concentration of kente weavers in the country, with the craft being a major source of livelihood for many families.
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