Fatim Diallo

Mali

Leather Artifacts & Bags

Fatim is from Fururu, a small Mali village in the desert near the border of Mauritania. At the age of seven Diallo’s grandmother began to teach her the tradition craft of leatherwork.

The stunning geometric patterns Fatim inscribes and paints on her leather bags and pillows are shared by nomadic peoples like her people, the Fulani, but also the Tuareg and Berber. Such bags are used to decorate newlyweds’ homes and also to carry foods such as couscous and dried camel meat.

Since Fatim’s appearance at the 2007 Santa Fe International Folk Art Market she has been able to expand production in her village, and now employs several other leatherworkers who now have a means of livelihood.