COOPERATION WITH MALI

ABOUT THE COUNTRY & OUR PARTNERS

A country at the interface of North and Black Africa with around 18.6 million inhabitants (2017), of which around 90% are Muslims. The different ethnic groups are divided into castes. In addition to the noble caste, there is the artisan caste, the hunters' caste and the "griots" - troubadours (composers, poets and singers).

THE COUNTRY & THE CULTURE

The pride of Mali is the land of the "Dogon", villages on cliffs several hundred meters high, the "Falais of Bandiagara" and the more than 1000-year-old clay mosque of Djenne. Timbuktu, a desert city, was inaccessible to Europeans for a long time. The stories of Arab traders who visited the important place on ancient caravan routes made Timbuktu a place of longing.


Population 1.324 billion, second most populous country in the world and the most populous democracy in the world.

900 years ago, scholars founded a university in the desert, which was one of the most important universities in the world for 300 years. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Timbuktu was an intellectual center in the Islamic world. Valuable manuscripts still bear witness to this today.


It is the diverse beauty of the landscapes that we admire, the ancient philosophies and sciences that have also arrived in the West, such as yoga and Ayurveda.

The problems today include health care and the demands of Islamist rebels who temporarily took control of northern Mali.
Malian music culture is famous. Singers such as Ali Farka Touré, Satif Keita and the Tuareg band “Tinariwen”, former rebels, are also known in Europe. The annual Music Festival du Désert is also famous.

The Tuareg's jewelry is also known worldwide. The Tuareg are a nomadic people who lived for centuries in what are now the states of Mali, Algeria, Niger, Libya and Burkina Faso. KIKOONI sources handmade long necklaces and earrings from Mali made of Tuareg silver and bronze, Bakelite necklaces (plastic) and colorful bracelets made by hand from the plastic of old rice sacks.


Helping people to help themselves is important to us.

PRODUCTS FROM MALI