Sri Lanka fast-tracks promising Peace Collection to international store chains with new initiative

A Cross Functional Team Styled (CFT) special division is to be formed to fast-track the promising ‘Sri Lanka Peace Collection’ to ensure sustained livelihoods for conflict affected women through primarily the handloom textile sector. The time has now come to upgrade and develop this sector rapidly, said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.

The Minister was addressing a special debriefing on the ‘Sri Lanka Peace Collection’ by USAID-funded VEGA’s expert Haoua Cheick Seip held at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on 26 July. The briefing was also attended by officials from the Ministry of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development, Department of Textile Industry, Export Development Board, Department of Commerce, Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel (SLITA), Textile Quota Board of Ministry of Industry and Commerce as well as the Department of Textile and Clothing Technology, University of Moratuwa.

Seip has been in Sri Lanka for the last six weeks to assist the war affected communities, especially in the north and east of Sri Lanka involved in the production of handlooms, by exposing them to newer designs and recommend products currently in demand in international markets.

She is attached to the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) programme implemented through USAID. Seip is founder of African Creations, LLC, which has implemented a programme that prepares women artisans achieve economic self-sufficiency through their traditional crafts and preserve their cultural heritage.

She has already linked the work of artisans from 15 countries—Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Madagascar, Kenya, Gambia, Niger, Swaziland, Cote d’Ivoire etc with markets in the US, and is the recipient of a number of awards including the Verizon Capital of Women’s Entrepreneurial Award – DC Women Business Centre as well as a certificate of Appreciation by the Smithsonian Folk Life Institute.

“The new CFT style unit will include representatives from UNIDO, Textile Unit of Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel (SLITA), Export Development Board, Universities involved in garment sector, and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and stakeholders such as designers, among others,” Minister Bathiudeen announced.

“We can also plan a trade show in Washington to showcase our Peace Collection to the world. In addition we also need to promptly upgrade the 21 handloom centres of this sector in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and need to allocate funds,” he stressed.

The Sri Lanka Peace Collection project was initiated by the Outreach and Economic Affairs Divisions of the Secretariat for Co-ordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in November 2008 with the aim of ‘making it the brand that will connect rural Sri Lanka produce to the international markets’ and has already collaborated with a number of organisations including the Academy of Design (AOD) and the Rural Development Network.

The Sri Lanka Peace Collection effort follows the renowned Rwandan Peace Collection model. Based on the ‘trade instead of aid philosophy,’ the Rwandan Peace Collection, made available at Macy’s department store based in the US, consists of traditionally woven baskets direct from Rwanda. Created by Rwandan widows, the basket exports that began in 2005 became one of Rwanda’s biggest exports by 2010, sustaining the weavers and their families.

The number of this socially vulnerable group including widows in the north and east was 49,000 in 2002 but increased to 82,000 in 2009. According to the latest available information provided by the Northern Provincial Council, in the Northern Province this number has increased to 43,297 in 2010.

The Sri Lankan initiative also plans to support a portion of the female-headed households in the NE Provinces with livelihood support while assisting towards their responsibility of looking after the needs of nurturing their families. The project will be implemented through existing weaving centres in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa and Ampara.

Seip, making her presentation to Minister Bathiudeen, said that the handlooms in the Sri Lanka Peace Collections were impressive and clearly had the potential to be sold by the international department store chains.

“I am also impressed with the spirit and skills of the weavers in the north east,” she said. “I understood that there is also a good local market for these handlooms as well.”

Seip stressed that the Sri Lanka Peace Collection should be differentiated: “Sri Lankan collections need to look into differentiation of their products since we also find they often have the same designs and patterns as imported textiles. Perhaps the local handlooms could be infused with some original ‘Sri Lankan styles’ to their weaving or colour designs to create this differentiation.”

Making her recommendations for the handloom sector, she said: “I recommend establishing a sales centre or an outlet centre similar to Laksala in Colombo. I also recommend a catalogue displayed in all tourist hotels with a glass window merchandising handloom products in major hotels and a campaign addressed to the local hotel managers to buy local handlooms and support the community. I also stress that the local handloom producers need to develop and use natural dyes, such as spices, flowers and wood chips.”

As for the steps needed to fill the gap between the existing market and the demand potential, Seip said: “Training and coaching of handloom sector personnel is required. The Textile Training Institute and universities can address as well as local designers and master weavers in the private sector.”

Addressing the briefing, Country Director of UNIDO Sri Lanka Nawaz Rajabdeen said that the delivery and quantity factors of Peace Collection handlooms needed to be paid attention to for Sri Lanka to successfully enter international store shelves. “I believe that Minister Bathiudeen will fully support the Laksala type ‘one stop shop concept’ for these handlooms,” Rajabdeen added.

Rajabdeen’s Colombo-UNIDO office piloted the initial study of north and east handlooms in the country at a time when the conflict was still raging and identified that these fabrics held the promise for international department store shelves.

Also present at the special briefing were Tilak Collure (Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Commerce), H.M.R.B. Herath (Additional Secretary-Textiles, Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel), Y.L.S. Hameed (Director General),  Himali Jinadasa (Advisor to the Minister and Convener of the Sri Lanka Peace Collection Initiative) and Dr. Nirmali de Silva (Course Director, Fashion Design Degree, Moratuwa University –Textile and Clothing Technology).