GLOBAL CONTEXT

With more than 60 million people identified by the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of displaced people and refugees worldwide has reached its highest level in 2014. A sad record which might be exceeded again in 2016. More and more people find themselves in refugee situations without any (or few) perspectives of return to their country of origin. If recent events have highlighted the influx of migrants seeking to reach Europe, it is in fact in others countries, often among the poorest in the world, that are hosted the 4/5th of refugees. These long exile for refugees therefore represent a considerable challenge for host countries with very limited resources. Beyond the few responses to deal with emergency situations, it is essential to identify and implement innovative and sustainable solutions for refugees self-reliance.

IN BURKINA-FASO

"Forcibly displaced people, always carry something of significant value : their knowledge, their skills and their experience. There are closely 38.800 people currently living in Burkina Faso's refugees camps.

Some of them are very skilled craftsmen and we aim at enabling the to become self-reliant again."

Yuve Guluma - UNHCR Livelihoods officer in Burkina Faso

OUR PROJECT

Promote the social and economic integration of Malian refugees in Burkina Faso by valuing their craftsmanship

To promote the autonomy of Malian refugees in long term refugee situation, AfrikaTiss.org launched in the summer of 2015, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a capacity-building program for local artisans and refugees in Burkina Faso. The project Design for Peace was born from this desire : to offer refugees artisans collaboration with Parisian designers to experiment new techniques and develop collections crossing different expertise. The goal was to enable multicultural and innovative designs, which take into account simultaneously the requirements and standards of the international market.

.

THE STEPS OF THE PROJECT

The project is organized around three key phases (below) that will structure and sustain socio-economic integration of refugees artisans. The training and support program is offered to refugees artisans in order to enhance their production capacities. The first stage of the project was to provide artisans with training in product innovation. This have been made possible with an initial funding of UNHCR partner and sponsor CKU (Center for Culture & Development). Refer to our interview by the french TV TV5 Monde.

Capture_d__cran_2016-05-24___05.27.19-1464060454

THE TIMELINE

Now that the first part of the project have been completed, we want to move to the second stage : which is to strengthen the production for a broader market penetration.

For this stage we must strengthen the training of the first group of 17 artisans and add 43 new artisans to reach the critical number of 60 artisans (1/3 of our goal of 200). With this number of trained artisans, we will be able to respond to consequent international orders.

Capture_d__cran_2016-05-24___05.25.14-1464060608

If we succeed in this second stage, we will get closer to our ultimate goal which is to allow 200 refugees to reach self-reliance by end of 2018. In the first part of the project, we selected with the help of a jury, 6 product designers who came to Ouagadougou for 50 days to work with the 17 artisans from the camps of Mentao and Goudebou in the northen region.

THE CRAFTSMEN

Discover the 17 craftsmen who were involved in the first artistic residence :

Ousmane Ag Agafane - Bintou Wt Mohamed - Mohamed Youssouf Ag Sidi- Waneibi Ag Elmehdi - Hadijata Wt Agali - Fadimata Wt Agali - Sidi Mohamed Ag Elmehdou - Mohamed ou Bebe Ag Moha - Abdoulaye Ag Alassane - Assadek Ag Egless - Fadimata Wallet Houssa- Aïchalala Wallet Zahit - Issa Egless - Aïcha Wallet Mohamed - Issa Ag Maha - Oumar Ag Agali - Zeinabou Wallet Hakimou

Artisans_kkbb-1464054501

THE DESIGNERS

Every designer had to co.create with a group of artisans Home decor objects and fashion accessories. Meet the designers :

Adrien LEROUX, Product designer specialized in Wood - Claire TINGAUD, textile designer - Marta BAKOWSKI, Product designer - Cathy AMOUROUX, stylist and graphic designer - Oriane PEREIRA LINO, textile designer - Pierre MUROT, product designer

The_designers.jpg-1467918866

THE VOLUNTEERS

The first part of the project was possible thanks to a team of volunteers who have carried the project since its very beginning :

Nazaire BADO, Logistics - Abala CISSÉ translator french / Tamasheq - Mariette CHAPEL Founder of Afrikatiss.org & Design for Peace coordinator - Lorenza DIOTALLEVI, Education manager - Anaïs DEPRET, Trainer - Floriane DUMOULIN, Sourcing funds & partnerships - Nathalie JACQUAULT, Artistic Director - Sovandy KONG, Financial Partnership manager France - Gabrielle LEPISSIER Artistic Residency coordinator - Léa LIABASTRE & Mayssa TOKO Graphic designers & Upcycling program - Véronique OUDRAEGO, Financial Partnership manager Burkina-Faso - Jessica OUBLIÉ, Consultant in training processes - Louise TASCHET Training assistant - Nelly WANDJI, Founder of Moon-Look.com & Business Development manager