An Interview With Oumar Cisse, aka Peace Corps Baba
Once again “Peace Corps Baba” has shared the treasures of Mali with us. The July16-17 event was very successful and had a party like atmosphere which is often the case with Oumar. I would like to thank all of you who took the time to come and be a part of this very special jewelry show and sale.
Starting the Business
I have known Oumar for more than 10 years now and I am constantly impressed by his dedication to African arts and crafts, his generosity and warmth, his creativity, his business acumen and his energy and strength (the latter is a reference to the very heavy suitcases full of jewelry that must weight at least 200 lbs.) I met him at one of his Malian associates home in D.C. where he was doing a sale. I was overwhelmed than by the variety of jewelry he had as well as his personality and knowledge. We began to craft a relationship which has deepened over the years and like many of his friends, we have become family.
We have talked business and travel over the years, but this time I wanted to know more about his business and how he achieved the success he has.
He started his business in 1983 after finishing school and returning home. His grandfather had been a trader in beads in Dogon country and it was quite natural for him to follow in his footsteps. He worked with his uncle also for a time in the same field and was challenged to start his own business which he did in 1989, a small step in the direction of creating Farafinga-Tigne, (African Reality). In March of 2000, he took a big step and had his Grand Opening with government dignitaries and more than 1000 people from the surrounding areas of Mopti, Segu and Bandiagara (Dogon country). In 2001, he got his big break after having been chosen as one of three people to go to Paris for a trade show. He was given an order of 4,000 necklaces by Jacqueline Rouzon. Though this meant a lot to Oumar, it also meant a great deal to the artisans whom he employed to help make the necklaces. This was just one of the orders that would enable them to send their children to school, purchase land, prepare for Ramadan, or buy a donkey. In 2005, he secured a large order for mudcloth bags with Hallmark, 120,000 mudcloth bags were ordered and delivered. There have been other achievements but according to Oumar, the most important thing to him is representing the culture of Africa. This is clear as he sells his jewelry in whatever venue and provides details of its use in traditional culture. This year, he was invited along with three other Malians to participate in the 50th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps as part of the folk life festival.
Keys to Success
How do you get from small time bead seller to an internationally known Ambassador of culture? I asked him this and his answer was that you must be good with everyone and tell the truth, not go for a lot of profit by misrepresentation. “Do like the Peace Corps” he said, “go slowly and ask someone who knows more than you. No one can be right all the time.” This approach has created a level of trust with artists he works with in Mali who know that he will follow through on his contracts.
An outgrowth of his work with beads has been the development of a bead museum in Serer (17 kms outside of Mopti). He credits Hilary Whitaker, formerly President of the Bead Society, for this. In 1991, he was invited for a conference in the U.S. to talk about Malian beads. People purchased all the beads he was wearing which to his dismay left him without a resource he had largely taken for granted. Hilary suggested that he begin his collection again but that he place it in a small museum. The museum has been operational for some time and in 2004, Oumar generously invited me to his home in Mopti and I was able to see the Museum ( as well as Dogon country which was incredible). The Museum was truly impressive and it was easy to see that this was a work of passion and love of culture. For him, it is still a work in progress and a grand opening is planned for 2012.
Moving On
Meanwhile, Oumar continues to Los Angeles and Portland and later in the year to Paris, Norway, Belgium and Milan making friends along the way and exposing the beauty of African culture.
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So good of you to share this little bit of your world and Oumar’s world with us. It has indeed been my pleasure to meet you and him, to be exposed to the wonders of the African world, and people like you and Oumar who are proud of it, care for it and promote it with dignity and pride to the rest of us. I look forward to showing off my Malian finds to friends and telling them what I know of Farafina-Tigne.
Congratulations
How do we get in contact with Oumar Cisse? When will he be in LA?