Aurora is proud to announce that we recently signed a contract with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iceland about co-financing further support of the Lettie Stuart Pottery (LSP) in Sierra Leone. The project is called: Guidance, the first steps in the sustainable operation of the Lettie Stuart Pottery. The aim is to have the Pottery operating sustainably to create jobs and future income for the potters.
Aurora Foundation has been supporting the LSP over the past couple of years, and during that time, it has been transformed into a well functioning Pottery Center. It is located just outside of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone. Aurora has also established a Pottery School at the Center, with our counterpart, where students learn to become potters.
With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iceland, Aurora will have two amazing potters joining the Center to provide vital assistance. Gudbjorg Karadottir and Péter Korompai will join the Pottery Center for three months to provide guidance and conduct research. They have already partnered with Aurora and given much needed support to the Center and the pottery school.
To make LSP a sustainable Center that can continue to train and educate young people, especially women, in the production of good quality pottery is our small contribution to the fight against extreme unemployment among Sierra Leone youth. The raw materials for pottery making and the demand are there, and there is also a space for plenty more potters in the local industry. By supporting the LSP, we are increasing the variety in the job market and craftmanship, and it creates opportunities for young people to gain employment and become self-sustainable. With this project, several of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN are addressed, in particular the goals 4, 8, and 9, which are about Quality education, Decent work and economic growth, industry innovation and infrastructure.
The Pottery Center is unique, and there are not many Pottery Centers in Africa that have kilns that can do the high firing and that have such capable local potters as LSP. This project is thus not only good for employment but also in preserving craftsmanship and knowledge in the country and also taking that knowledge to the next level. Products hand made in Sierra Leone from local materials have excellent marketing potential globally, especially now when the demand for sustainability and the knowledge of the product’s ethnicity is becoming louder.
Sierra Leone Adult Education Association (SLADEA) is Aurora’s partner in Sierra Leone and operates the Pottery Center.
Ágústa Gísladóttir, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Iceland, Regína Bjarnadóttir, Aurora Foundation.
