Dyeing has become a big business, providing jobs for many. Experts say it has the capacity to reduce pressure on the labour market, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE
For job seekers, opportunities abound in the tie and dye industry. The industry is very large and accommodative of new entrants. It doesn’t require certification just the skill which can be acquired on the job. Aside the production of the materials — kampala, batik, and adire — there is a need for marketers and, may be exporters, of the finished products which enjoy patronage in Nigeria and beyond.
Adire, batik and kampala can be used for many things. However, they are mainly used in making clothes. They are also used as bedsheets, curtains and finishings for homes and offices for aesthetics. Given their variety of uses these days, both within and outside the country, the demand for the materials has increased with supply taking the back seat because that end of the chain is occupied mainly by ageing workforce begging for new hands.
Against this backdrop, the industry will welcome anyone who desire to come in as their are many windows of opportunity. Aside job creation, experts believe the industry can boost foreign exchange earnings if properly harnessed.
Although many have ventured into the trade in recent times, to earn a living and reduce the pressure on the labour market, the industry still needs more hands. Graduates, school leavers and even those without formal education can find their niches in the industry.
Experts said despite the limitless opportunities it offers for job seekers, the jobs cut across social strata. There’s something for every one, no matter his/her qualification. Anyone venturing into the trade can become an employer of labour in no time. They advised the unemployed laying siege to offices for white collar jobs to take a chance with the trade. they assured that any new entrant would not regret it.
According to them, it is a good means livelihood which provides substantial income daily. Moreover, both skilled and unskilled workers can create jobs. The jobs are not only in the tie and dye sector; textile manufacturers, dealers in clothing materials, producers of dyes and marketers benefit, from the industry.
What does it take to become a tie and dye expert? According to industry experts, the art of making Adire or Kampala is simple and flexible once people adhere to certain rules guiding it which they can’t espouse on the pages newspaper.
One of them, the Managing Director, Tye and Dye Limited, Mr Tayo Adebayo, said the market is expanding by the day. He said his National Certificate of Education (NCE) certificate could not fetch him a good job, hence, his decision to go into the production of adire and batik.
He said he has overcome the initial challenge of getting customers, adding that people from diverse backgrounds come to his Ibadan office to give him jobs.
He said: “The proceeds from the job are modest, but I have helped in training more than 100 people in the past five years. Some of my students are university and polytechnic graduates, who embraced the art to create jobs for themselves. While some of them have opened their own shops, others are working from their homes to meet customers’orders. By and large, they have got a means of livelihood which I think will prevent them from depending on relations or parents for survival.”
He said the art of making adire is simple, arguing that people who want to venture into the business must have a knack for colours, be observant with a higher level of concentration. He said if the colours are not properly mixed, it would affect the production.
Adebayo said adire first emerged in Abeokuta, a town noted for cotton production, weaving and indigo-dyeing in the 19th century.
He said adire oniko is believed to be the oldest adire method, stating that Yoruba and other West Africans taken to the US as slaves were said to have been familiar with the design.
On how to make designs, he said: “Areas of the fabric are tightly tied with thread (originally raffia, later cotton) to produce simple decorative designs. Several methods have traditionally been use. One of them is called Bullseye. The centre of the fabric is found and then the whole piece is twisted and tied, or the fabric is pleated with or without folding into segments and tied; then the fabric is dyed. The technique is quick, easy, and inexpensive to produce. It is so ubiquitous dyers call the design ‘Tom, Dick and Harry.’”
A more complicated version involving diagonal pleating is called sahada (possibly from al sahada, Arabic for “testimony.” This certainly would be an attractive choice to make into a muslim-style tunic,“ he added.
Also, the Managing Director, SJ Tours Limited, Mrs Abiola Ogunbiyi, said adire, batik, among other materials, are well sold at tourist centres. She said such tourists buy such materials at higher price because of their unique nature. She said clothes of various sizes and designs are objects of attractions in tourist centres.
She said: “The tourism industry is growing well. New hotels are springing up daily. Many centres have been upgraded to meet the international standards. Tourists from different climes are visiting the country for one thing or the other to explore the beauty of Africa. Through this, they discover unique things about the cluture, and dressing of Africans. Hardly can you get hotels in Nigeria without seeing well designed adire, or batik sold at a higher price. All these have multiplier effects on the economy.”
She said the demand for adire, kampala is growing in certain parts of the country where people use them for parties. Mrs Ogunbiyi said people who have an eye for arts love the textures and designs on adire among other materials in Nigeria, stressing that some buy and export the materials.
She urged job seekers toexplore the window of opportunities opened in the industry to create jobs for themselves, arguing that they can start with small capital.
“There is a lot of value chain in the industry. One is production of adire and other materials which I believe tourists like so much. This means an expanded market which translates to more job opportunities,” she added.
A dealer in Adire in Osogbo, Osun State, Mr Jacob Adeniyi, said the annual Osun Osogbo Festival is usually attended by tourists from different parts of the world. Adeniyi said the demand for the materials is high during and after the festival, advising people to use the opportunity for growth.
“We are talking of huge unemployment rates in Nigeria. The universities are producing over 100,000 graduates every year. They have tickets (certificates) in their hands, but there are no jobs. Where would the jobs come from. It is high time graduates faced the reality and think of what they can do for themselves. To the best of knowledge, there are enormous opportunities in the production of adire among other materials that come with unique designs,” he said.
