The role of pottery production in development: a case study of the Ankole region in Western Uganda.

Abstract

The study investigated pottery production activities in the Ankole region, Western Uganda, focusing on technical and socio-economic issues. The main objective was to investigate how pottery industry plays a role in cubing unemployment and mitigating poverty as well as its impact on the environment. The fieldwork component of the study involved qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. Firstly, questionnaires were administered to 148 respondents from a wide cross-section of Ankole region. Secondly, 40 potters were interviewed and 7 focus group discussions were conducted with potters from this region in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the experiences and opinions of both traditional and contemporary potters something a questionnaire alone could not yield. The findings indicate that traditional pottery is primarily in the hands (role) of women, while men are engaged mainly in innovations and commercial pottery production. Undeniably, brick and tile making have become a lucrative business, especially for the male youths because of the high demand of the products by both the rural and urban communities. However, pottery activities have had a devastating effect on the environment. In some places, these activities have created pools of stagnant water which have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which spread malaria in many parts of the region.