The story of the Maison d’artisanat africain (African Handicraft House) is more about a passion for the African continent and its art of wood carving. The warehouse in Solitude has been opened to the Mauritian public since last Friday. The exhibition of African products – all unique – will last as long as stocks last. It will certainly provide original ideas for Xmas and New Year presents… Your shopping could start there, couldn’t it?

Anne de Falbert is now a part-time airhostess. She had been doing the job full time for several years but her secret passion has always been for wood carving. “I used to have a machine to carve wood and I enjoyed imitating the products I saw in Africa during my trips there… Even though I don’t have much time anymore to devote to it, wood has remained a special material for me. I can’t really explain it! I know my grandfather and my uncle had the same passion… It might be genetic,” she says with a broad smile. So, the time remaining from travelling and child-minding is spent in her warehouse in the courtyard of Solitude factory.

<B>Expeditions on wonderful continent</B>

In fact, the story started with another passion… But, more than just a special interest in wood, Mr Bourgault has a real passion for Africa. Living in Zimbabwe, he wanted to invest in his native country, Mauritius. So he started with hardware products. And this is when his cousin-in-law, Anne, started speaking of the “wonderful handicraft products made in Zimbabwe”… This is how their collaboration started. Bernard de Senneville joined them to market the products.

Importing from Zimbabwe is very different from importing from another country. “With the political problems in Zimbabwe, all our craftsmen were kicked out of the towns and had to take refuge in the bush,” explains the director, Anne. “That means that we have to go into the bush to find the products we need,” adds Mr Bourgault.

Such “expeditions”, as Mr Bourgault likes to call them, imply that “you know when you go but you never know when you come back”. He seems to have hundreds of anecdotes to relate about his own experiences in the bush. Although anyone would think this situation might prevent them from doing their job, such problems do not seem to bother them that much. “Africa is an extraordinary continent,” they simply say… And this makes them overlook all the problems. “Can you believe it that all those products are unique? The people who manufacture them are uneducated and simply express what they see and feel though those objects? That is fantastic!”