180 Carved wooden drums and trade in Mpigi district, UgandaThere is also a need for improving the quality of existing drums and
make them sellable in a competitive market. Qualities such as a good array
of woven skin strings must be evident to the buyer if the drums are to sell
well. Although some of the drums in the market already have this advantage,
the quality of other products needs to be raised to command higher prices.
Just as the need for support and subsidisation would generate a greater
share of the profit to producers, the policy related to quality improvements
should lead to increased income levels, because producers can receive more
money for the same amount of work. For example, it takes an equal volume of
wood to make a high quality drum as a poor one, but the high quality drum
can fetch more than five times the price.
In view of the above, another policy area should address stabilisation and
expanding the market by encouraging drum production and market access for
expatriates, residents, local upper-class buyers, tourists and export. To
safeguard a stable demand, financial and technical support is needed to
undertake market research and develop a market information system. This is
not something that producers can be expected to know; nor do they have the
income to undertake such an effort. The market needs to be continually
assessed, feedback provided to drum makers and the quality of carved wooden
drums developed and refined accordingly.
The way forward presented above and the associated strategies need to
be implemented effectively in order to improve the drum making industry.
Greater benefits to those involved, specifically improvements in the present
income levels, should be realised so that the drum making industry in Uganda
can generate income commensurate with the level of quality and effort
invested. In so doing, those involved in the industry could obtain the benefits
they deserve.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank the World Wide Fund for Nature, UK; the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation; and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for
jointly funding the People and Plants Initiative Project, on which this report is
based. We also thank Dr J. Obua and Dr B. Campbell for their valuable comments
on the original version of the manuscript draft.ENDNOTES- Department of Forest Biology and Ecosystems Management, Faculty of
Forestry and Nature Conservation, Makerere University P.O. Box 7062, Kampala,
Uganda. E-mail: [email protected] - Department of Forest Biology and Ecosystems Management, Faculty of
Forestry and Nature Conservation, Makerere University P.O. Box 7062, Kampala,
Uganda. E-mail: [email protected] - People and Plants Initiative 84 Watkins Street White Gum Valley,
Fremantle, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] - Mzee denotes an elder in Luganda language.
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