2023-12-08 12:00:50
Interview with Kathia Gretta Iradukunda, Burundian social entrepreneur
Met in the Little Switzerland of Morocco, the founder and director of the Hyacinth Art House reveals the particularities of her project. The opportunity for this young 27-year-old entrepreneur to talk regarding her participation in the 7th African Trade and Investment Summit, also called the Ifrane Forum. An event organized from December 6 to 8 in this beautiful city.
ALM: You have just presented your project at the Ifrane Forum. Please tell us the reason for this…
Kathia Gretta Iradukunda : The project is also named following my company which works in both environmental conservation and art, more specifically in transforming invasive plants called water hyacinths which are everywhere in lakes and rivers in sub-Saharan Africa. And we manufacture useful, functional and decorative art objects in collaboration with cooperatives of women artisans a little more in Burundi but why not also extend it to Africa. At the same time, it is a great pleasure to be in Morocco. This is my second time here. In the Ifrane Forum, it is a question of investment, trade and development of the continent and the creation of African champions. The next ones being the youth. For me, it is a pleasure to be an entrepreneur and a young person who is part of these major discussions on the Zlecaf, the private sector in which I am an actor in economic diplomacy. It’s also interesting to be able to share this with other youth networks.
What regarding the economic impact of the Hyacinth Art House in your home country? And what would be the financial value?
Already, the impact comes with the women artisans with whom I collaborate. They had potential but not exploited. So it’s a direct impact in the community but also this opportunity that we’re starting to have to sell our product outside. This also applies to the image of our country where the economy does not have many products to export like many sub-Saharan countries. So an art business that allows you to go beyond borders and generate income is a step. It also allows us to give an image and hope to other young people. To talk regarding the financial value, I would like to recall that I was a journalist as part of the Unicef child journalists program and when I finished my university course in public health, the first opportunities I had were was in the press. This allowed me to finance prototyping and I turned to national competitions. This is the case of the UNDP Innovation Week Awards, Boss Lady by Econet. Last year I received the Awa Prize from Enabel which supports us with a financial aspect of 50 thousand euros. I got this award in the public vote category.
And is there enthusiasm for your project?
There are some. This is a concept I started two years ago. The invasive plants I am talking regarding began to invade in Burundi in Lake Tanganyika more specifically since 1993. Before two years, there was no public or private program that dealt with this aspect of environmental conservation. and aquatic biodiversity threatened by these invasive plants called water hyacinths. So, it is a real and great enthusiasm for the fact that this comes to activate the artisanal skills of the women of Burundi where, in the context of the country, craftsmanship is not valued enough for their access to employment, to visibility, the exploitation of these skills. There are even athletes that we involve in collections. Also, this enthusiasm comes from the fact that it is not only Burundi which is threatened but rather border countries like the DRC which shares the same lake which has this invasion on its side, Kenya and Uganda which have certain plants invasive in Lake Victoria. So it is a project which, once it is in Burundi, can be transposed to other regions where this need arises.
So are you working on spreading your project to other countries?
For the moment I only work in my country. But what I try to do is to be involved in networks of women or entrepreneurs where discussions around Africa take place. This is the case of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the Social inclusive business camp, and the Women in Africa program. What I try to do in these networks is to introduce these discussions but also to attract attention and have potential personnel at the time when we would like to go to these regions. Also, there are discussions with national embassies in the DRC and Uganda to start taking this step, so why not go to them. There are also people who come to us like an organization from Madagascar who wrote to us to request training on the same problem.
And what regarding Morocco?
To tell the truth, I have not done any study on the Kingdom market. I think I focused more on where I had the best information. Maybe that’s an idea!
The Ifrane Forum also devotes a plenary session to the cultural and creative industries. How can your project be part of this concept?
It is true that the area where we are already is part of these industries, particularly cultural, in the sense that the skills and art of basketry are part of African heritage. Currently it is no longer the weaving for the small tools at home that women did for their kitchen but it goes into decoration, utility such as ecological trash cans in hotels, schools, etc. So this emphasizes the cultural and creative aspects. To strengthen these, we must not limit ourselves to the environment but to innovation, the opportunity that the Internet offers us. It is within this framework that our project, which I have been taking care of full time since October 2022, fits. It promotes culture and heritage but also establishes creativity through the needs we have for ecological products.
This event addresses the construction of African economic champions. And how can we get it in art and culture?
I think that art and culture are not detached and spared from the creation of African champions. For example, there are the essential elements in the person’s life, culture comes next to interfere. As long as these African champions are created, even the cultural ones will be in the process of being created. Also, connecting Africa to each other and across the world also means developing cultures beyond borders. So the two are closely linked. Creating African champions also means creating cultural champions.
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