I remember the incident in Idah (Kogi state) about 5 years prior as if it was yesterday. MitiMeth was in the process of being birthed and I was in the "R&D" phase for water hyacinth transformation. My cousin and I had gone to Ofiayi, one of the tributaries of the river Niger, to look for water hyacinth. He didn’t quite know what I was referring to but he went with me anyway. I spotted a few water hyacinth weeds floating by the edge of the river and told him that was what I wa

Arise Nigeria! Arise O Compatriots… It is October 1st, time to celebrate the 55th Independence of Nigeria, and it’s got me thinking about the word……Independence. Could we be doing things a bit too independently of each other…. ? What I’ll be focusing on though is how the artisan role is far from being an independent experience. It just would not thrive as such. Artisanal handicraft is usually a combination of various skills cutting across many disciplines. It’s a multifaceted

My quest to learn more and find out about the indigenous handicrafts sector led me to Kano back in February 2014 (read blog). Sometimes it is good to choose to be naïve. Better still don’t tell anyone of your plans until after they’ve been executed. I am sure that if I had told anyone about my Kano trip before embarking on it, they would have instilled so much fear in me about how unsafe the place was that I may have cancelled the trip. People (including my family!) got to he

Video: Woven wonders – CNN Africa Start Up #homedecor #placemats #aquaticweed #waterhyacinth #baskets #bags #Nigeria #handicrafts #typhaaustralis #wealth #gifts #weave #employment #communities #natural #handmade #ruralartisans #ecofriendly #empowerment #waterhyacinth

“Start where you are.” A phrase floating around on the internet and on many social media platforms. For some it could just be a wise sounding phrase and yet for others it could be a realisation with tangible evidence. The latter is more the reality of recent happenings in a part of the Makoko community. Most people might know Makoko as a water community in the densely populated Lagos State in Nigeria. It’s interesting to note from our experience that the community is partly o

A phrase floating around on the internet and on many online social media platforms. For some it could just be a wise sounding phrase and yet for others it could be a realisation with tangible evidence. The latter is more the reality of recent happenings in a part of the Makoko community. Most people might know Makoko as a waterfront community in the densely populated Lagos state in Nigeria. It’s interesting to note from our experience that the community is partly on the water

On July 9, 2015, representatives from the ENACTUS University of Lagos team and Makoko came to the MitiMeth facility in Ibadan for a 1-day Skills Upgrade training. It was great having them join the MitiMeth team for a very busy day which comprised of shadowing and hands-on exercises . We look forward to providing a distribution platform for more Water Hyacinth crafts from the Makoko weavers. Thanks to Dr. Ntekim-Rex for bringing the team to Ibadan. #MITIMETH #ENACTUS #Makoko #

Two months ago I had a unique privilege and the opportunity to give the opening Talk at TEDWomen 2015. That's right the 1st speaker at the 2015 Conference. Incredible......my Idea was found worth spreading. How did that happen, many have asked. This is my story. Back in November 2014, I received an email from Betsy (I didn't know her prior to receiving her email!) via the MitiMeth website. The email went like this "Hi Achenyo, I work for the TED Conferences (ted.com). We are

What do TAI, Industree and NEDFi have in common? INDIA and I! My journey to Bengaluru (aka Bangalore) and Khetri (Assam) started with email correspondence in January 2015 from me to Gouthami, Founder of “Travel Another India” and 2010 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Laureate for Asia Pacific. The power of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Community! I had remembered reading Gou’s profile sometime last year and thinking that when next I travelled to India, I would consul

On September 26, 2014 MitiMeth welcomed the Lagos based The Heart of the Matter TV crew to its humble office and workshop in Ibadan. We were honored to be the subject of one of their TV features this month which featured on Silverbird TV on October 2. A big "Thank You" to Omilola Oshikoya for finding the MitiMeth story TV worthy. We had a brief but interesting exchange during the 2013 WIMBIZ Conference last November. Little did I realize that the brief exchange of almost a y

Early February, MitiMeth and FACE Initiative trained 40 women in Ogbia town, Bayelsa State on how to make handicrafts from water hyacinth popularly known as "Abiola". It was an eye opening experience for the women whom all this while considered the water weed to be an absolutely useless and destructive plant. By the end of the 4 day training workshop the women had made tangible products (vases, fans, pens etc) to showcase. Our gratitude goes to our project partners at MIND an

During the 3rd week of June, the MitiMeth team travelled to Owahwa, Delta State to train youth on Water Hyacinth Crafts. The training was sponsored by the Wetland Institute for Training Services and TreasureLakes Ltd. We quickly learned that the various waterbodies in Owahwa and Esaba were infested with other types of invasive aquatic weeds apart from Water Hyacinth! The training was held in the Community Centre and on the first day we had close to 50 people show up! The numb