WOOD CARVING: TFS Hatches Training To Help Mwenge Wood Carvers Comply With Regulations

WOOD carving, or what may be referred to as “sculpture,” is a longstanding and historical genre of art in Tanzania, practised by a few Tanzanians with gifted hands who transform forest products into diverse shapes of their choice.

This sector plays a notable role in promoting the richness of indigenous tribes’ cultures, norms and traditions by preserving and maintaining them in pieces of well-crafted wood.

The highly artistic handwork, which speaks louder than words, has survived through the passing of talents from one generation to another and has all it takes to be promoted and safeguarded, given its crucial importance to the country’s economy and cultural heritage.

The marvellous carvings developed through this sector have become a red-carpet product in Tanzania’s tourism sector, attracting both local and international spectators.

The carefully crafted carvings are used as valuable ornaments to decorate furniture and settings in international hotels, restaurants, offices and homes, enabling practitioners in the sector to fetch lucrative profits while the government also generates substantial revenue.

In the hectic Tanzania’s business capital of Dar es Salaam, a series of wood carvings is taking shape along Mwenge Street, serving as the first famous stop for tourists jetting into Tanzania through Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport “Tanzania’s First Tourism Impression.”

As part of recognising the value of this sector, the Government, through the Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS), has conducted a training clinic for wood artists and relevant traders operating along Mwenge Street in Dar es Salaam.

The training focused on imparting useful knowledge and awareness of the laws and regulations governing the harvesting and transportation of forest products, as well as their exportation.

The objective is to ensure that the sector continues to thrive by providing access to sufficient raw materials for developing wood carvings, while ensuring that practitioners comply with the relevant procedures and regulations.

Speaking during the training, the Kinondoni District Forest Conservation Officer from TFS Mr Dotto Ndumbikwa, said the training was also held with an eye to receive and solve the divese challenges facing the sector’s involved stakeholders.

He said, TFS had been accompanied by forest conservation officers from the Eastern Zone, including those responsible for overseeing forestry activities in the Airport area, with the aim of listening to traders’ challenges and finding solutions to them.

The conservation officers urged traders dealing in forest products to visit the relevant government offices before starting their businesses in order to obtain information on the required procedures, permits and fees.

” You must also be vigilant during the inspection of your products, especially at airports, by ensuring that the officer conducting the inspection identifies themselves and produces an official work identification card,” they instructed.

For his part, the Chairman of the Tanzania Wood Carvers Artists Association (CHAWASAWATA), Mr Sebastian Daniel Mbebe, hailed TFS for conducting the training, said it had helped them understand laws and procedures that had previously been a source of challenges.

He expressed that wood carvers had also identified some areas where they had not been complying properly, including obtaining the required permits.

“As wood carvers, we also had some shortcomings. There were many permits that we had not been complying with as required by law, but today we have received the necessary education and learned what we are supposed to do,” he said.

However, he said there was still a challenge regarding fees, which they considered to be high, particularly for giraffe, rhino, lion and elephant carvings, which can be heavy despite already being finished art products.

Mr Mbebe added that this situation could increase costs for customers transporting the products through airports, while noting that they would continue following the required procedures and paying the necessary permit fees as they await further action on the review of the charges.

Meanwhile, a forest products stakeholder, Mwanne Mashugu, thanked TFS for reaching out to them at their business premises and educating them on procedures, from obtaining forest products to delivering them to shops, as well as how to pay the required fees and obtain transportation permits.

“With the education we have received, we will be able to educate our customers and help them successfully transport their consignments without having their goods left behind at the airport,” she said.

TFS has continued to urge traders and stakeholders dealing in forest products to comply with the established laws, regulations and procedures, while encouraging them to obtain the necessary education and permits from the relevant government offices before starting their businesses or exporting the products outside the country.