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In 1997, the Postal Services issued its first set of stamps on Petits M?tiers or Small Businesses which featured the saron (Wheelwright), dobi (Washerman), sarpentye pirog (Shipwright) and the kuper koray (Quarryman). Now a second set of stamp depicts more Petits M?tiers that have over many years been carried out by successive generations of families engaged in the manufacture of basic tool and household utensils or the provision of low cost services to their customers.
Rs2 ? Ferblantier (Tinsmith)
This is a craft that has evolved and adapted to changing times and circumstances. Its continuity is guaranteed for its large clientele by craftsmen coming from the same families. Working in small workshops in their backyards or whatever other space that is available on the family plot these craftsmen use very rudimentary tools, equipment and material. The average tinsmith produces a wide range of metal utensils such as watering-cans, braziers (used both for religious ceremonies and for cooking), buckets, paraffin lamps and letter boxes. Small items like candlesticks, piggy-banks and burners are also made from discarded tin cans.
Rs7 ? Cordonnier (Cobbler)
Every town has its own neighbourhood cordonnier. Usually located in tiny workshops, the cobbler repairs and replaces worn soles and heels very rapidly at low costs. Some cobblers manufacture cheap footwear from uppers and soles imported from Europe and the Orient and other bigger units incorporate the repair, manufacture and sale of shoes in small shops. The craft is not under threat as the art is passed down from father to son thus the well shod Mauritian public is well served.
Rs9 ? Forgeron (Blacksmith)
The days of enormous bellows, huge furnaces and the Mauritian blacksmith securing a metal tyre onto the wheel of a horse drawn wagon or carriage are long gone. Today the self-employed blacksmith labours in his workshop with a simple furnace and the anvil and hammer being the tools of his trade. This is a disappearing trade practiced by a handful of not-so-young men engaged in the manufacture of a range of rough, robust, cheap tools and implements such as hoes, axe-heads, chisels, hammer-heads, crowbars, levers and spikes.
Rs15 ? Vannier (Basketmaker)
Basketry in Mauritius is under threat from cheap imports from Madagascar, Zimbabwe and the Orient. The once famous ?tante bazaar? and the smaller ?tante manz?? have been replaced by plastic products. The use of sun-dried leaves and fibres from local plant such as the coconut, aloe and vacoas for the production of hand-woven baskets, floor and table mats, bags, cases and straw-hats is now done on a very small scale. However, in Rodrigues, where both men and women continue to wear straw-hats, the craft continues to flourish. In Agalega, where there is an abundant supply of coconut leaves, the locals produce a small range of handcrafted articles for the Mauritian market.
Technical Details
Designer : Andrew Robinson
Printer : BDT International
Stamp Size : 27.94 x 44.45mm
Perforation : 14
Gum : PVA
Paper : CA Watermarked
Sheet Format : 50 stamps set in two panes of 25
Release Date : 30 June 2004
Denominations : Rs2, Rs7, Rs9, Rs25
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