Artisanal potters in Benin are preserving their heritage

Her hands know every movement by heart. Solange Akakpo has been shaping clay since she was a child.

A member of the women’s pottery association “Akpénin Mahou”, she is carrying on her family tradition in Sè, a village in south-western Benin, celebrated as the country’s pottery capital.

The raw material, clay, comes from the lowlands of the village of Dota, and is first dried and crushed.

“We’ve inherited this craft from our mothers, who used to make terracotta pots and vases,” said Akakpo.

“When the clay arrives, we crush it and leave it to dry in the sun. Then we soak it in well water to make the clay paste. After that, we carry on with the other stages right up to the firing.”

Once the clay has been mixed into a smooth paste, the craftswomen work with it by hand to refine the texture in preparation for shaping.

Akakpo said pieces are first let in the shade for 72 hours before drying in the workshop for at least three weeks.

“To make it beautiful, we apply red clay to the dish before firing it. Once that is done, we are relieved after all that hard work. At that point, we’re happy, and then we sell it,” she said.

Every month, the women receive orders from towns across the country and also from abroad.

Christmine Edaye is a huge fan of Sè pottery and has come to the village to collect an order of jars and pots for her restaurant in Cotonou.

“These pots really retain heat, …They keep our meals warm, and when you cook in clay pots, the food takes on a different flavour to that achieved with other pots,” she said.

Along the road running through Sè, pots, jars, and other earthenware dishes are on display for passers-by to see, bearing witness to the importance of pottery in the village’s economic and cultural life.

Calixte Adankpo is finance manager at the NGO “Art and Development in Benin”. He said the first thing that catches people’s eye when they approach the village is the pottery.

Faced with changing consumer patterns, potters in Sè are gradually adapting and innovating, ensuring that Dota clay has a future as solid as its tradition.