Natural Hair /Dreadlocks: Trends to be showcased at Yaounde’s International Festival
Current trends in natural hair and dreadlocks will be showcased at an international festival in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, from August 7-8.
The two day event to hold at “Case des Arts”, in the nation’s capital, has as theme “Afro Natural Hair and Leadership”.
The natural hair and dreadlocks festival is organized by “ABOK Art”, a cultural association headed, by Laro Njoh.
It is a platform that invites people with natural hair to aspire to positions of leadership, in order to to market the values of natural hair, and possibly encourage others to embrace the African heritage.
The festival is also codenamed “ISIL” , meaning hair in fang-beti languages.
Activities will include; Panel discussions , projections, documentaries, fashion parades, workshops and a contest on the most original natural hairdo.
Why give value to natural hair?
Natural hair, also referred to as “nappy”, is en vogue. Many women have discovered the beauty and value of keeping their hair natural. Most of them have abandoned the quest to acquire Brazilian and Indian human hair which used to be almost every woman’s dream. Synthetic hair is also no longer fashionable .
Organizers say the festival seeks to give value to black man and woman through natural hair. Many hold that hair is a strong symbol of identity, and should be well catered for.
The festival will equally encourage women to embrace natural hair, empower entrepreneurs dealing in natural hair products, encourage scientific research on proper care for natural hair, and change societal view of people with natural hair.
ABOK Art” , The association changing Africa’s cultural narrative
“ABOK Art” is a Cameroonian nonprofit making association, created in 2012, and registered in the Ministry of Arts and Culture with the reference , ASS/MINAC/SG/DDPA/SDA/017.
The association wants to see Africans consume African cultural products, as well as develop, and promote cultural African values.
Kathy Neba Sina