The
Yonso Project, a rural community development initiative, is setting the pace
with the establishment of the Bamboo Centre at Apaah in the Mampong
Municipality of Ashanti to train young people in bamboo development.
The
Centre empowers the youth to manufacture high quality multipurpose bamboo
products that are suitable for use everywhere in the world, including handcrafted
bamboo bike frames, hand bags, purses, sandals and table mats.
“The
intention is that we try to create jobs in the rural areas so that people don’t
migrate to the cities where they don’t even get the jobs that they are seeking;
so we try to create the village cottage industries where they can make very
good business,” stated Kwabena Danso, Executive Director of the Project.
The
Yonso Project works to improve educational and economic opportunities to
alleviate poverty.
To
sustain educational development programmes in the rural community, the Project
invests 50 percent of sales from the bamboo products in educational
scholarships and library project in the community.
The
Project is also rolling out a concept dubbed “the Village Bicycle Woman” under
which women in the rural areas will be trained in bicycle repairs and
maintenance and then supplied with bamboo bicycles for rentals.
“So
students can use these bikes to school, farmers can use the cargo bikes to go
to their farms to make the bikes more accessible to the rural folks”, said Mr.
Danso.
In
addition to its export market, a hire purchase scheme has been instituted to afford
the local folks opportunities to own the bamboo bicycles.
Mr.
Danso is confident an upscale of the bamboo project will create sustainable
cottage industries that are economically and environmentally relevant to the
rural economy.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
No comments:
Post a Comment