> [!NOTE]+ Meta > Author:: [[Sharon Tsang-de Lyster]] > Reference:: [https://www.thetextileatlas.com/craft-stories/talismans-from-tuareg-refugees](https://www.thetextileatlas.com/craft-stories/talismans-from-tuareg-refugees) > Tags:: #warp #Africa > WeftLinks:: [[Migrant and refugee value of craft]] >Claim:: [[Claim - Craft provides a livelihood with dignity through market access]], [[Claim - Craft provides a way of sustaining cultural attachments to home]] > [!SUMMARY] Summary > Crafts are important for displaced peoples of Central Sahel region to survive in their host countries. ### Highlights In the Tuareg culture, artisans belong to a hereditary caste that includes blacksmiths, leatherworkers, and jewellers. They are artisans at birth, with their own dialect and myths related to their skills and tools. Each of their handmade pieces carries the know-how of countless generations and is a repository of the Tuareg cultural heritage. Traditionally, women in the Bella caste reared livestock, and tanned hides to make nomadic tents, while blacksmiths from the Inadan caste melted down trading coins for their distinctive jewellery including the “Croix d’Agadez”. In recent years, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have been struggling to cope with new outbreaks of conflict. As of October 2020, violence in the Central Sahel region has driven 2 million people from their homes. For many of the Tuareg who fled from Mali to Burkina Faso and Niger, the opportunity to earn an income is crucial for their survival. Their artisanal skills are invaluable assets and that many are able to use, producing goods for local markets. UNHCR hosted design and product innovation workshops for these displaced artisans, where they learned to combine new materials and create new products to be sold through local social enterprises and UNHCR’s networks.