Exhibition revives traditional uses of coco-de-mer products |06 April 2006

A member of the group, Tania Bellard, who addressed the guests at the official opening of the exhibition on Tuesday April 4 in the afternoon at the Grand Anse Praslin community centre, noted that the exhibition reveals “the splendour of this unique and marvellous endemic plants of the Seychelles through creative traditional products”.

"This exquisite craft reached its apogee in the Seychelles in the 1830s, the time of the abolition of slavery, when agriculture came to a standstill because of the ex-slaves’ reluctance to work on land of their previous masters," Ms Bellard said when she was sharing a bit of history with the guests.

She remarked that it was Antoine Benezet who introduced this form of art in Seychelles and that today man has been able to exploit the plant positively to create a variety of artistic products.

Officially launching the exhibition, the executive director of the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), Lindsay Chong-Seng, congratulated the team for their good work.

"The project is a very good initiative on the part of the students and those who have helped them," he said.

He noted that the team received great help from two Praslinois residents, namely Eloise Barbé and her daughter Florette Barbé who have made the artefacts which are on display.

"The team's task was not an easy one as first they had to obtain permission from the department of environment so as to get hold of the ‘heart’ of the coco-de-mer tree, which was an essential material to make the exhibition possible," Mr Chong-Seng, who was very impressed by the end product, said.

He also remarked that the Vallée-de-Mai, where the coco-de-mer trees grow naturally, is not only a natural heritage but also a cultural one.

The very interesting exhibition includes a variety of utensils and other objects made from coco-de-mer shell like korbey, a recipient fixed to a wall in which you can put flowers; kokolo, a recipient used to put water in; fruit basket; kokosye; among others.

There are also hats for different occasions, door mats and even a model house with the outer walls made from coco-de-mer leaf.

During the opening of the exhibition the young team also paraded in the different coloured hats matching their costumes to show how people used to dress in the old days.

Also present at the ceremony were wardens of the Vallée de Mai natural reserve.

The team who worked on the project also included participants from the Small Island Voices youth which forms part of a Unesco youth programme which is being facilitated by Farida Camille.

Ms Camille said that the history behind the artefacts on display can be shared in the youth forum on the internet as preservation is an important issue.

The exhibition will today move to the Vallée De Mai where members of the public can view it.