updated: 8. May 2010

Akidima Effad

Tuareg Artisenat => Zum Artisenat

akidimaefad@yahoo.fr

born: 1978 in Gougaram, Niger
living: in Vienna (Austria), Ghat (Libya) and Arlit (Niger).
married: with Ines Kohl
son: Rhissa

Austria: 0043 . 676 . 687 42 90
Niger: 00227 . 96 . 26 25 44

Akidima Effad was born around 1978 in a nomadic tent near the nomadic
village Gougaram in northern Niger. After visiting for about 4 years the
ground level school in Gougaram, his family was forced in 1986 to leave
their nomadic surrounding.

Recuring droughts and the increasing lack of water and food for humans
and animals made a life in the Sahara almost impossible. So the family
settled down in the 60 kilometers far village of Arlit. After the death of
his father, Akidima was forced to support his family and couldn´t go
further to school.

With the out-breaking Tuareg-rebellion in 1990, he left Niger, went with
a camel-caravan to Algeria and from there to Libya, where he tried to find
work in Libyan farms. He herded goats, sheeps and camels and found
work in garden cultivation.

Since 2000 he is trading with Tuareg silver jewellery and handicrafts and
sells them in Libya and Austria.

Akidima Effad has – like most of the Tuareg nomads – no school education
and not the lightest access to knowledge what would grant him a certain
career. Dealing with Tuareg-jewellery and handicrafts is his chance to
join the world.

Old silver-amulets (jirawt, chomeissa) and rings (tisander), Air, Niger.

Old silver-bracelet, Air, Niger.

Chomeissa (amulet for protection) in silver and shell, Air, Niger.

Old traditional keys (tesachfil), Air, Niger.

Butku, a bin made of dumplam thread for storing areshira, a mixture
of dates and cheese, from Timia, Kreb Kreb and Abarakan, Niger.

Alkada, old wood-bowls with spoon for drinking milk or eating eshink,
the traditional millet-milk-porridge, from Abarakan, Niger.