"Our work is very important to us, as it is what enables us to live, to help each other and to meet the needs of our families."
--Illies Mouhmoud

Before organizing with his friends to start UPAP (Union Peasants for Self Development), Illies Mouhmoud traveled through France for several years, selling his jewelry from a backpack. Today, he is a master craftsman and founder of (UPAP), an artisan group that creates traditional Tuareg jewelry in his village of Terhazer, Niger.

The Tuareg are the descendants of Berbers, an indigenous people of North Africa, and are renowned for their exquisite silver work. Mouhmoud makes jewelry using the lost-wax method, an ancient practice used for complex casting. He creates a wax mold, forms clay around it, and pours molten silver into the hardened clay.