After being embraced by residents of a community in the Rupununi, local craftsman Aaron Stephens is seeking to give back by sharing his knowledge and skills with its youths.
The 28-year-old Stephens was born in the small village of Karaudarnau in the South Rupununi. However, when he was eight-years-old, his parents decided to move to Georgetown.
Apart from two occasions, when he visited not for more than three days, he did not go back. That changed just over a year ago, when his parents decided to move back to the community and bought a house there. Knowing that his aged parents will need assistance with their farming, Stephens decided to move with them.
Stephens was surprised that the villagers welcomed him into the community. Their “friendly and welcoming” demeanour meant so much to him that he decided to embark on a project aimed at helping the youths of the community. “They welcomed me and helped me to adapt and I really want to give them back something positive,” Stephens told Stabroek Weekend during an interview.
Noticing that the local youths were badly in need of positive influence, Stephens said he decided to train them in craft making.
Prior to moving back to Karaudarnau, Stephens lived in Trinidad and quite “accidentally” fell in love with making jewellery.
Back then he was working with a pharmaceutical company and began making jewellery as a hobby. He started selling some of it but he focused mainly on his job.
He subsequently moved back to Guyana, where one of his friends encouraged him to continue making jewellery and other crafts after seeing his creations. “She encouraged me to do more local and cultural craft, so that’s what I did,” he added.
He says they went into business together and he started selling some of his pieces, which he made using materials that are mainly found in the hinterland community.
Moving was a huge adjustment for Stephens but he says he eventually got accustomed and is very satisfied with life in the village. “As a creative artist, I just want peace and quiet and that’s when the ideas start to flow. Since coming here, my work has become more creative and improved a great deal. I don’t think I would be creative as I am today if I didn’t move back here. My horizons would not have been broadened and I would be doing normal craft,” he explains.
In addition, he said, living in Karaudarnau has forced him to think outside of the box in regards to the material that he utilises, mainly because artificial material is rarely found in the community.
He uses materials like bones, cow horns, seeds from local trees, beads, deer horns, stones and feathers, among others. Previously, he was only working with artificial materials.
When he moved back to Karaudarnau, he notes, not only was he welcomed with opened arms but the villagers immediately took a liking to his craftwork.
Although not everyone favours his fusion of indigenous and artificial materials, Stephens says that he likes using both because the Guyanese community is one big mixture, which he thinks should be embraced more.
His main aim is to make his craftwork as unique as possible and he has been inspired by the community. He says he engraves designs on his work, and he hopes that if his business is successful, people will be able to distinguish his work and will know that the story that is being told on the engravings is that of Karaudarnau.
Stephens went on to reveal that for the South Rupununi’s Mashramani costume competition, he designed a float for the Primary School along with a Jack Sparrow costume, which were hits in the Rupununi.
Further, Stephens stated that he knows that being in the village will have a negative impact on him financially but he intends to leave a mark on the community.
In that regard, he says that should he leave the village, he wants to make sure residents of the community continue his work. He revealed that he invited a few students from the school to observe him work. The students showed up and he has since embarked on an unofficial training course with them. However, he says due to the fact that he lives quite a distance from most houses, the students find the walk a bit challenging but they are eager to learn. He adds that while he teaches them to make simple things, they seem anxious to move on to the more challenging aspects of craft making.
As for himself, Stephens says the villagers have offered him a space to display some of his work in the local village shop. He says he is currently thinking about the offer but it is likely that he will accept it.
As it relates to “official craft making training,” he says he is willing to share his talents with the youths. “This is something that will have a positive impact on them,” he adds.
For Indigenous Heritage month, Stephens plans to take his tools and materials to the primary school so he can teach interested persons the art of craft making. “I just wanna have an impact in the village and share my talents. I want the youths to know that they can make some money by doing craftwork,” he added.
While he is not certain, Stephens plans to showcase some of his work during the upcoming Indigenous Heritage Month at the Sophia Exhibition Centre.
