The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) distributed craft tools among Tuareg women to facilitate them in making traditional handicrafts in the city of Canet, located in the Great Sahara Desert in the south of Algeria.
TIKA's Algeria Coordinator Gökçen Kalkan, Canet Provincial Tourism Manager Emin Hamadi and president of the Association of Women in Need, a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) operating throughout the country, Meryem Belaala attended the distribution ceremony held at the Tuareg women's work area in Canet.
Kalkan pointed out that TIKA plans to spread its projects throughout Algeria and emphasized that this project contributes to both the employment of women in need and the development of tourism in the region.
Hamadi stated Canet is recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO and a priority center of field tourism by the Algerian government and thanked TIKA for their support.
Tuaregs, known as "Tavarik" in Algeria, are known as a large tribe that settled in the Sahara Desert and spread to Libya, Morocco, Niger, Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Tuaregs, an Amazig-Berber people, are Muslims and speak three different dialects of Berber. Most Tuaregs, who have lived a nomadic life in the Sahara Desert throughout history, still maintain their traditional lifestyles in the countries they live in.
In Tuareg culture, which is also referred to as "the ancient owners of the Sahara Desert," women play an important role as a dominant element in society.
