Art & Crafts in Togo
Discovering crafts
In West Africa , Togo surprises with the variety of its craft traditions. Land of a thousand colorful contrasts, Togo offers visitors many testimonies of traditional craftsmanship.
The multitude of ethnic groups and landscapes creates an abundance of artisanal activities which seem to specialize by region according to the predisposition of men and the availability of raw materials.
Activities related to Art & Crafts
Crafts: Central region
Region: Centrale
City: Sokodé
The variety of artisanal activities can be found here too: in the many markets in the region, among others, those of Blitta , Pagala or Adjengré where you can find various products of local crafts: agricultural tools , gourds and calabashes. , shopping bags, Sokodé , the regional capital is famous for weaving . The national weaving center perfects this art, but you can also go to Kpassouadé east of Sokodé , a town famous for the work of its weavers. Further east , the town of Tchamba specializes in the pyrography of gourds and calabashes.
Crafts: Plateau region
Region: Plateaux
City: Kpalimé
Mountainous and covered with forests of various species, the Plateaux Region , by the density of its raw materials, creates a flourishing of artisanal activities, the most important of which is statuary art.
Many artisans exercise their talents either alone, in groups or even within craft centers. These artisans produce a variety of objects: wood carving , macrame , batik , ceramics . The weaving is also very developed in the region with the ” kente ” the traditional loincloth ewe whose motives are loaded symbols.
Crafts: Kara region
Region: Kara
City: kara
Region mountain soils in places difficult to work the middle of the development depends for much of the knowledge of farmers and craftsmen.
The work of iron is thus revealed a tradition which plunges its origin in the mists of time. The ruins of the blast furnaces of Nangbani and Bandjéli in the Bassar prefecture are still living witnesses of this ancestral tradition. In Tcharé , Pya and Yadé in Kozah prefecture , one can admire the work of traditional blacksmiths who use large mountain stones as an anvil and hammer to beat red iron.
Crafts: Savanes region
Region: Savanes
City: Dapaong
The region is characterized in terms of craftsmanship by the predominance of basketry , leather goods and weaving.
The markets of Dapaong and Cinkassé which come to life weekly bring together artisans who display, on the ground, finely crafted utilitarian objects: straw hats , bird cages , palm fan of palm trees, handbags and bracelets in leather. We will enjoy discovering the talent of the many weavers and weavers of the region at the center of women’s self-promotion of Dapaong ( CEDAF ) or at the cooperative of craftsmen of Lotougou.
Crafts: Maritime Region
Region: Maritime
City: Lomé
In the Maritime Region , Lomé the capital, drains most of what is most ingenious and most naive of national artisanal production.
In the popular districts of the city, jewelers , shoemakers , upholsterers , tailors and other carpenters set up their stalls on the sidewalks. In the Grand Market in Lomé , one can admire the stalls of multicolored beads of utensils menus of kitchen pottery or wickerwork and sacred statues.
Kpalimé, the city of artists and craftsmen
Region: Plateaux
City: Kpalimé
Kpalimé is the most important craft center in the country. Many artists and artisans have settled in the region and have opened their workshops and shops all over the city. We will discover batik , woodcarving , weaving , calabash work.
The craft center Kloto : Founded in 1967 ; the Kloto Handicraft Center , near Kpalimé has a dual role. It is the production center for a wide variety of handicrafts : woodcarvings , pottery , batiks and macrame ; it is also a school where young apprentices can acquire the knowledge of their teachers.
The Market and the Craft Village of Lomé
Region: Maritime
City: Lomé
You can find rue des Arts , very close to the Hôtel du Golfe , where all kinds of art objects are sold . It is a great place to shop for souvenirs and the discerning shopper can discover valuable items.
The craft village brings together different trades. You can see the craftsmen at work: batik , woodcarving , engraving , weaving…
The traditional blacksmiths of Atakpamé
Region: Plateaux
City: Atakpamé
Traditional blacksmiths: There are many blacksmiths in town who practice their profession using entirely artisanal techniques and means.
Pya’s traditional potters and blacksmiths
Region: Kara
City: kara
Traditional Pottery ( Pya Pittah ): Essentially female activity, traditional pottery is done with bare hands without special tools. Traditional blacksmiths ( Pya Katdeka or Tcharé ): traditional forges.
Traditional weavers in Sokodé
Region: Centrale
City: Sokodé
Sokodé , the regional capital is famous for weaving. The loincloths of the weavers are used to sew the tunics or the large embroidered boubous that the Tem knights wear on their horses on feast days.
The traditional weavers of Bafilo
Region: Kara
City: kara
About twenty kilometers from Kara , in the direction of Lomé , there are traditional weavers near the town of Bafilo .
