VirtuArte.com

In my last post I talked about the need to help older girls and women who did not have the opportunity to get an education become active participants in their societies. A couple of weeks ago I spoke to a woman, Ann Elston, who is doing just that with the Koumama family. Her journey started in 2001 when her husband introduced her to Elhadji Koumama, a Tuareg silversmith living in Agadez, Niger.

Traditionally semi-nomadic, some call Tuaregs the "Blue People" due to the traditionally worn clothing colored with a blue dye made from the indigo plant that easily rubs off on their skin. Today the indigo fabric is most commonly used for headgear. Most Tuaregs live in northern Niger with some living in Mali and Algeria. Today three ancient Tuareg classes, Nobles (camel herders), Vassals (goat herders) and slaves (now outlawed) still exist. However, following the famines of the 1970s and 1980s and civil unrest, many have been forced to abandon their herds and take on labor and lifestyles they might traditionally have rejected.

The Koumama Family

This family was nomads until the 1970s. They belong to a subclass called Inadan, people who work with fire and metals -- blacksmiths. The family was led by Mohamed Koumama, one of the most famous Tuareg silversmiths, until his death in 2004. He trained his sons, grandsons and extended family in the craft as his forefathers did for over a thousand years. Mohamed Koumama's work has been displayed in the National Museum in Niamey since Niger's independence from France in 1960.

The Koumama family is famous for creating unique, high quality sterling silver jewelry using the traditional hand tools (screwdrivers, nails, safely pins, files, charcoal and handheld bellows) and methods that have been used by Tuareg craftsmen for centuries. Although "born into the trade" Koumama men serve extensive apprenticeships under the watchful eyes and guidance of older and more experienced family members. They begin by making the simplest designs and only after years of painstaking effort do they begin to make jewelry deemed suitable for sale under the Koumama name.

After hearing how Elhadji Koumama was trying to create jobs for the talented but poor artisans, Ann offered to start a business to market the jewelry of the Koumama family. Through all of Ann's efforts sales have increased twenty fold since 2001.

Creating the Woman Effect

Only Tuareg men and boys from the Inadan class work with fire and metals. Women sometimes help by stringing beads for the necklaces. Since they typically are the keepers of things of value women are responsible for safeguarding the silver and stones as well as the finished jewelry.

Tuareg women are famous for their beautiful and intricate leatherwork. The typical types of products made are large, long cushions that are used for pillows, bags of all sizes from small pouches for coins and tobacco to very large and ornate camel saddlebags. In 2007 Hadja Allasan, Elhadji's stepmother was visiting the United States to demonstrate leatherwork at a Tuareg exhibition in California. During this trip she expressed the desire to create a women's leatherworking business on the same model used for the jewelry.

A Desire Becomes a Realty

In January when she was in Niamey, Ann helped to get the business started. The women have made sample pillows, key chains and handbags. Some of the products such as the key chains are an adaptation of traditional items while others are specifically designed for the western markets. They are working to get the designs right and the quality of the workmanship up to the level that would be acceptable in the international markets. At this very moment Ann is in Niamey and has taken with her samples of handbags and other products she purchased here in the United States that can be taken apart so the construction techniques can be inspected.

Due to the civil war Ann will not be able to go beyond Niamey to the areas where many of the Tuareg people she works with fled to. Unfortunately this means that some of the women in these areas will still be without work. She is hoping to find a way to develop patterns and samples that others could carry to these women and than have the finished products brought back to Niamey. As you can see this women's project is going to be challenging in a number of ways. Nevertheless, these women have a strong desire to succeed so they can contribute financially to the support of their families.

As I want to do with VirtuArte, Ann is creating awareness of beautiful products made in a country most people are not familiar with. Traditional skills are being utilized that have been handed down from one generation to the next, jobs are being created and sustainable incomes are being generated by the men of the Koumama family. Now Ann is working to create "the woman effect."

I will be following the progress of the Koumama women leatherworking business and will give you periodic updates. In the meantime, if you want to find more information about Ann, the Koumama family or their jewelry go to www.tuaregjewelry.com.