"Every single country that has banished mass poverty has done so by seeing its trade increase - especially foreign trade"
"Trade is a technical name for shopping"
"Trade is the way forward for Africa"
Timbuktu Fair Trade Jewellery
When you purchase an item of fair trade jewellery from Jump4Timbuktu, you are directly supporting the Tuareg artisans of Timbuktu to trade their way out of poverty and this is how it works.
From the fair trade price that you pay, a large proportion is paid directly to the artisans who made it at an agreed and fair wholesale price. This enables them to maintain and feed their families and to have something in reserve to meet new orders.
Initially working with five Timbuktu Jewellery Associations, we have discussed and agreed a Fair Trade Agreement covering everything from fair trade wholesale pricing to delivery and payment. Enshrined in this agreement are fair trade values and an understanding that Jump4Timbuktu directors receive no salary. All jewellery sales profit is invested in sustainable development projects in Timbuktu. We, the directores, see this as fundamental to ensuring customers have confidence that each and every purchase impacts directly and positively on the Tuareg artisans' livelihoods and their capacity to trade. Click here for details on these projects.
Situation on the ground
The Tuareg artisans of Timbuktu number some 10,000 people, a quarter of the total population. Recently driven from their nomadic desert lifestyle by droughts and the effects of climate change, they strive to make a living through trading in goods such as cotton, leather and jewellery. Their challenge is that traditional trading routes have declined; Timbuktu no longer sits at the cross roads of trade between Europe and Africa and is now isolated on the edge of the Sahara, a long way from contemporary markets. Whilst the Timbuktu artisans are highly skilled and produce fair trade jewellery products, they are disadvantaged by their geographic isolation and inadequate infrastructure and commercial services. For eight months of the year temperatures are regularly over 40° C and in these months there are few tourists in Timbuktu.
Fantastic potential
Jump4Timbuktu is the fair trade arm of the charity Tuareg Relief. Click here for more on Tuareg Relief. In February 2008 we visited Timbuktu and met artisans selling beautiful and extremely well crafted silver and stone jewellery. We saw the potential for wealth creation based on their heritage of knowledge and skills and agreed to work in a fair trade partnership with the Co-operative of 59 Artisan Associations in Timbuktu to introduce and sell their unique jewellery in western markets.
Looking ahead
As we approach the anniversary of our first year (March 2009) we are confident that, with support from fair trade customers, we can create a sustainable future for the Tuareg community of Timbuktu. Recently recognised by BAFTS (British Association of Fair Trade Shops), and working with the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) to introduce a new system of fair trade standards, we are excited by the potential to make a difference on the ground in Timbuktu.
Our immediate goal is to assist the five of the Silversmith Associations of Timbuktu to trade their way to a prosperous and sustainable future; to generate new markets for their stunning ethnic jewellery and to embed fair trade practices into all that we do.
Our long term goal is to encourage the other 54 artisan associations to adopt such fair trade practises, and in so doing introduce a new era of prosperity to Timbuktu, with it's people moving beyond subsistence living towards self-sufficiency and sustainbility. In this way they will achieve the economic wherewithall to afford the health and educational services that are fundamental to human well being.
