Mali's dry cleaners who carry out their families despite jihadism

Bandiagara (Mali), 15 Mar In Bandiagara, in the centre of Mali, women support their families by using a centuries-old trade. They are the dyers of indigo, the color they use to dye their fabrics while their men, the Dogon hunters, fight jihadists in an area hit by terrorism. The security crisis in this country in the Sahel region has left many broken families and deprived of tourism to dyers, who formerly sold some of these traditional fabrics to visitors and now barely survive on this art inherited from mothers to daughters. Dogon women have always been at the heart of this tribe's family economy. In addition to taking care of the work of the house, they are traders, farmers and dyeing artisans, using materials obtained from trees and clay for this trade. Traditionally, the men of this animist tribe have dedicated themselves to hunting and sowing the land, although in recent years, with the escalation of jihadism, they have been forced to fight these terrorist groups to fill the security vacuum that the area suffers. Its wives, many widows at an early age, have had to work even harder to feed their children and some of the dyers have created an association, Ambadingué, with the aim of gaining productivity and competitiveness and preserving this millenary trade. LACK OF WATER, RAW MATERIALS AND TOURISM At the head of Ambadingué is Djénèba Guindo, 65, who explains to Efe the path traveled and the problems they encounter. “We founded society among ourselves to get out of precariousness and prosper,” she says, while acknowledging that “today there is no shortage of difficulties.” “We are faced with the recurring problem of lack of water, rising raw materials and market access. Also, as a result of the crisis, the lack of tourists and merchants”. Before the security crisis in the country, where the jihadists following Al Qaeda and the Islamic State carry out constant attacks against the military and civilians, the women of Ambadingué sold their fabrics to tourists, especially Westerners, and they also exported them to countries in the region such as Ivory Coast or Senegal. Dyeing for these women is an ancestral heritage and the work includes the production of cotton yarns, their conversion into fabrics and the dry cleaning. “I learned from my childhood with my mother, who learned it from my grandmother. At first I only made the cotton threads, but then I learned to do the whole process,” says Djénèba, who this craft allowed her to feed her two children. The colors of the fabrics are not innocent and each one means something in Dogon society. Men wear brown and women wear different shades of blue depending on their marital status and other circumstances. Thus, widows wear black and indigo, and newlyweds, who have just given birth, in a lighter blue. A DREAM: PEACE Despite the war and insecurity, the Ambadingué dyers in Bandiagara continue to maintain their optimism, like the colors of Djénèba's fabrics, and look to the future. “My dream is peace. It's really needed these days. I invite everyone to peace of hearts and minds for the happiness of women and families,” says Djènéba. Baba Napo, a former tourist guide in the area, explains that since 2012 the region no longer welcomes visitors and women are driven into oblivion almost 700 kilometers from the capital, Bamako. “I ask the administrative and political authorities to value these mothers courage. We must give them more opportunities and support them in this situation. Many of them are widows who support their families,” he tells Efe. Before insecurity took over the country, which accumulated two coups in less than a year and now faces the departure of French anti-terrorist troops due to problems with the coup government, Baba says he was able to wear these fabrics on his trips to Europe, where he sold them at double or triple their price. “We must guide these brave women towards international fairs, they must be trained and equipped. It is very important to ensure their future,” he says. Idrissa Diakite