OUR COLLECTION — AFRICA — GAMBIA 314. TEAK NATIVITY
This Nativity was hand-carved from teak wood by the Brikama Craft Market carvers in the Gambia. The pieces of this set include Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, two animals, a star, and three wise men. The standing pieces are on pegs that fit into a wood board covered with cloth. The wise men measure 5.5 inches tall.
Situated away from the main hub of the capital and tourist areas is the Brikama Craft Market, almost a town of itself with corrugated rooftops held up by rough sticks. Inside this subvillage of almost 80 shack-like stalls you’ll find over 100 wood carvers, finishers, instrument makers and artists. Each stall is independently owned, but the carvers often rely on each other like a cooperative to help build inventory, share skills, watch each other’s shops when someone is sick, etc. In addition to the 80 stalls, there are two yards where strictly carvers spend their days unloading, sawing, and carving abstract and realistic figures into mahogany, teak, mango, and ebony wood.
Although highly talented, these carvers and finishers struggle to feed their families for a number of reasons, including lack of market opportunities and people to buy their wares, high competition and little help with product development and quality control, and stresses of living in poverty. In an entire year’s time, most carvers will make less than $500 in profit. From May to October (over the rainy season), many carvers may go weeks without selling a single carving, returning home after 10 hour days with nothing in their hands. These months, also known as the “hungry season” are a time when any tourists or buyers know that they can take advantage of desperation to bargain for lower prices, and workers will often take a price just above or even below their cost. This desperation has also led to some of the carvers purchasing cheap, black market wood that is either stolen or illegally cut without regard for the environment or Forestry Department laws.
Through fair trade, these artisans are able to have year-round work and practice legal and sustainable wood craftsmanship.
Situated away from the main hub of the capital and tourist areas is the Brikama Craft Market, almost a town of itself with corrugated rooftops held up by rough sticks. Inside this subvillage of almost 80 shack-like stalls you’ll find over 100 wood carvers, finishers, instrument makers and artists. Each stall is independently owned, but the carvers often rely on each other like a cooperative to help build inventory, share skills, watch each other’s shops when someone is sick, etc. In addition to the 80 stalls, there are two yards where strictly carvers spend their days unloading, sawing, and carving abstract and realistic figures into mahogany, teak, mango, and ebony wood.
Although highly talented, these carvers and finishers struggle to feed their families for a number of reasons, including lack of market opportunities and people to buy their wares, high competition and little help with product development and quality control, and stresses of living in poverty. In an entire year’s time, most carvers will make less than $500 in profit. From May to October (over the rainy season), many carvers may go weeks without selling a single carving, returning home after 10 hour days with nothing in their hands. These months, also known as the “hungry season” are a time when any tourists or buyers know that they can take advantage of desperation to bargain for lower prices, and workers will often take a price just above or even below their cost. This desperation has also led to some of the carvers purchasing cheap, black market wood that is either stolen or illegally cut without regard for the environment or Forestry Department laws.
Through fair trade, these artisans are able to have year-round work and practice legal and sustainable wood craftsmanship.