BasketsBeads& Basics is a Dutch company founded in 1994.

The main business principle is to develop fair trade between the southern countries and the northern countries, by supporting several projects and the associations in Africa.

About 95% of our products is handmade by local producers, mostly by woman from the rural areas.

All recycling products are made by young men who use waste material to create new products. Part of the project is to create employment for youngsters and to teach them several techniques and social skills, in order to give them better opportunites for the future.

(Quelle: BBB website)

De son vrai nom Yahaya MAKERI, Lagui est originaire de l'ethnie Haoussa au Burkina Faso, "Pays des Hommes Intègres". Il tient de ses racines profondément africaines sa passion pour la parure. Et, pas de doute, chacune de ses créations est une oeuvre inspirée par des siècles de traditions ancestrales. Où mieux qu'en Afrique de l'Ouest, avec l'Afrique du Nord si proche, peut-on trouver une telle richesse de matériaux ? Dans son atelier, bien sûr : verre recyclé ou perles de troc, coquillages, os, minéraux et métaux tels l'argent, le bronze, l'agate, l'ambre, la poterie… alliés à une grande technicité permettent à notre ami Lagui tout un panel de créations authentiques.

Toutes ces raisons font de lui notre partenaire privilégié au Karité Bleu où nous proposons quelques unes de ses oeuvres.

Oumar Cissé, known around the world as Peace Corps Baba, is the creator of Farafinatignè. He lives in Sevaré (Mopti-Mali). A real ambassador of Mali, and of west Africa itself, he travels all around the world: from the United States, throughout Europe, to Japan. By creating ethnic jewelry and textiles, he works today with over a hundred people and supports hundreds of Malians and their families

When he was young, he was very friendly with the Peace Corps, and used to work with them an interpreter. So, whenever someone needed him, they ask about Baba. However, there are many “Baba” in Mali, as it means Father in Bambara. In Mali, people give the name of their father to their first son and they call them Baba (father). When people would respond, “Which Baba?” they said Baba, the friend of the Peace Corps. Thus, people started to refer to him as “Peace Corps Baba”.

In 1987, he started to travel around the world to introduce African culture everywhere. In 1995, he had the idea to build a store with a bead museum in Sevaré (Mopti-Mali) called Farafinatignè, which means “African Reality” in Bambara. The official opening of the store was in March, 2000. Email: farafinatigne@hotmail.com