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The items which will be on show come from twelve local producers in leather and home décor. The producers whose works are to be sold at the Canadian Gift and Tableware Summer Show will be paid through a specially established account. The items produced by members of the Guyana Arts and Crafts Producers Association (GACPA) will be displayed and sold at the show in Toronto, Canada which runs from August 11th to 14th.
The shipment is part of a bold initiative by the GACPA to penetrate the Canadian market for craft products.
They have been receiving technical help from the Canadian Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) and the Canadian Executive Services Organisation (CESO) in the quest.
The project for the members of GACPA falls within the framework of the TFO/CESO Trade Capacity Building Project 2012–2014 and is being funded by the partnership with the Canadian branch of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The main objective is to facilitate sharing of Canadian trade expertise for the benefit of smaller enterprises with a specific focus on women-led/managed businesses.
The GACPA had also received valuable assistance from the National Agricultural and Extension Institute (NAREI), the Institute of Private Enterprise (IPED), the Small Business Bureau (SBB) and the Ministry of Tourism which have all helped the producers in the attempt to open up an export market in Canada.
President of the Guyana Arts and Craft Producers Association (GACPA) Ms Denzel Hollingsworth described the development as a major opportunity for the association.
“If all goes well we can demonstrate for the benefit of all creative Guyanese, that arts and craft has a significant potential for economic upliftment,” she said.
She said that the shipment is the first of its kind but not necessarily the last since after the show in August there will be another show in January 2014.
She said that the GACPA is hoping for a very enthusiastic response from Canadian buyers in this Summer Show and is gearing to send items for sale to the winter show, including a wider range of local arts and craft.
Facilitator of the export arrangements, Ms. Charlene London disclosed that the producers have indicated prices for their items and the products are leaving free-on-board, which means that all they have to do is deliver them to a central point in Georgetown and they will thereafter have no additional expenses related the shipment to Canada.
London expressed gratitude to the Trade Facilitation Office of Canada, members of the CESO and the Government of Canada for their support of the local arts and craft industry.
