Silver Jewellery by Bai.
Bai Sering Secka was born on Feb 1st 1962 in the village of Gunjur.
Married to Yajatou Ndure they have seven children together. His mother, Rakie Secka was a farmer and his father, Sawalo Secka as his father before him was a silversmith
Bai tells us “At the age of 11, I start silversmithing and received all my training from my father and uncle”.
I love “smithing” it has been our family profession since our forefathers. The trade is passed from one generation to another and our family is very proud of this noble profession.
Roots and tradition
My dad taught me from the age of 11. When I closed from school I would be with my dad for the rest of the day in the workshop.
I would help with the bellows and doing some errands for him. In those days we used our traditional bellows and I still use them to this day.
They are the roots and tradition of my profession. In those days we did both gold and silversmithing and mostly women bought gold necklaces and earrings and men will have the silver bracelet and finger rings.
My dad bought raw gold and silver from a trader in Banjul. It’s always a good quality and imported from South Africa.
I feel blessed he taught me how to craft gold and silver jewellery.
Examples of Bai’s Silver Jewellery
l have gained a lot of experience, first with my father and later with my uncle. So that now I have two workshops, one at home where I train my kids and the other workshop at Footsteps Eco lodge where I produce beautiful, quality silver wears. Any time you are in The Gambia please visit me at Footsteps for your best silver wear. You can even sit and watch me doing the work. Your satisfaction is my esteemed pride.