Niger - GIE Dani

The Groupement d’intérêts économiques (GIE) is an organization that was created on June 2, 2003, through the efforts of 13 crafts cooperatives located in Niger. The GIE is supported by a number of international partners, including the CECI. It has a membership of 2,836 craftspeople, nearly half of which are women from different regions and ethnicities in the country, and providing it with a wide variety of crafts. High quality jewellery, leathercrafts, shoes, pottery and baskets are sold in 6 savings and credit unions as well as a number of shops in Africa, Europe and Canada. For the second consecutive year, the group is participating in the Salon des métiers d’arts.

The group’s philosophy is one of fair trade and their goal is to improve the living conditions of craftspeople, fine-tune their marketing and provide them with improved commercial equity in sales abroad. By choosing fair trade, the GIE helps craftspeople leave poverty behind.