FROM NAIROBI TO NAMUR: UPDATES ON THE TRADITIONAL TEXTILE ENTERPRISES IN AFRICA AND ASIA CASEBOOK PROJECT, AND LESSONS ON STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY

In the IAJBS conference in Nairobi, Kenya, an offshoot of my presentation on cultural entrepreneurship is a self-funded casebook project on traditional textile enterprises in Africa and Asia. Part of the reason for deciding on this project is the author’s finding out that batik and ikat textiles are also done in Kenya as shown by the wares offered by cultural entrepreneurs at the 2016 IAJBS conference grounds. These weaving traditions are normally associated with Southeast Asian countries, with Indonesia as a commonly cited source of the two traditions. Within a span of seven months since the Nairobi conference, there have been 10 draft cases written, and this count does not include the cases graciously and gratuitously committed by colleagues from IAJBS schools, and other institutions. Even with these 10 cases alone (both on African and Asian enterprises), there are already interesting lessons offered on strategies adopted for sustainability, and fascinating comparative findings like the gender-specificity of the weaving traditions in the two continents, albeit on opposite poles. This presentation discusses said strategies and issues within the context of the continuum from Nairobi to Namur.