At least 50 per cent of the construction of Carnival costumes can happen in TT, say some stakeholders.
Incentives, training, and suitable spaces are said to be three factors which could help return the art form to the shores where it originated.
On March 1, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon said she would be advocating for a local-content policy on manufacturing and producing Carnival costumes. She said TT had the capacity to produce them, though some components would still have to be imported.
For Carnival 2023, some large bands were unable to source the volumes of costume pieces needed in time, as they had ordered them from China and Pakistan, and shipping issues caused delays.
[caption id="attachment_1005946" align="alignnone" width="683"] A model displays a costume from the section O-Ry-Yah - The Mother of the Universe in Resonate mas band's Carnival 2023 presentation A Cosmic Experience, One Woodbrook Place, Woodbrook on September 10, 2022. - JEFF K MAYERS[/caption]
Freelance feather designer Aaron Schneider said he only uses local tailors and seamstresses for his work with the band Resonate.
“Buying sewn stuff from China has proven to be quite the ‘cat in bag’ experience for me.
"The cost is a little higher here in TT, but the availability and access more than makes up for that. Furthermore, Carnival costumes are not cheap at the retail level, and thus these costs are readily absorbed.
"We can’t get away from ordering from China, as almost 95 per cent of the materials provided come from there."
But, he said, building, designing and constructing finished pieces "should be happening here.
"Why aren’t we setting up factories that are educating kids out of school with this as an option? There are thousands of kids every year misplaced and looking for a sense of direction. The ability to harness a creative energy like that and put it to work would be priceless in two or three generations down the road.
"We should be the number-one exporter of the Carnival product.”
[caption id="attachment_1005948" align="alignnone" width="1024"] An individual portrayal from Mas Mourning-Becoming Wreaths designed by Robert Young for Vulgar Fraction's 2022 Carnival presentation at Erthig Street, Belmont. - FILE PHOTO[/caption]
Schneider said the local-content policy was more than feasible, but "should definitely be helped along, by the way of incentives to lubricate the local manufacturing machinery."
He called for subsidies for small business operators and easing import restrictions on the main materials used in processes from design to production.
“I’ve been saying for years, it is the responsibility of the government to utilise the most available natural resources.
"We have harnessed oil, we must harness the massive force that is local creativity and allow it to stand head and shoulders along the local economic giants. Set up these factories and get to work, create the spaces and allocate according
