Rubia’s Meaning

Rubia is named for the red madder root used to dye yarn by women embroiderers in Afghanistan.

Reference: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/madder

Rubia’s Impact

Women in Tanti Bogolan’s Association in Mali create custom bogolan for Rubia as a source of desperately needed income. This makes a huge difference in their lives as most of these artisans are widows or have husbands who do not have the strength to work. Income from Rubia enables the women to buy basic necessities such as food, clothing or medicine for their children. According to Tanti Bogolan, when the orders decrease, the women cannot afford to buy cereal for their children.

Before the security and economic crises began in 2013, Djenné tourists bought bogolan from their association. In 2019, they tell us that their economy is dead:

Djenné est morte en activités.

Since the influx of tourists has dried up, the Tanti Bogolan association only sells their work to Rubia. Rubia then sells their work in the larger market of the United States, using the proceeds to purchase more bogolan. We appreciate these artisans’ hard work pursuing their cultural tradition of bogolan and hope you will continue to purchase these extraordinary pieces from Rubia!

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