The Tigurarin workshop highlights the traditional Timimoun carpet as part of the 11th edition of the National Cultural Festival of Women’s Creativity. This artisanal heritage, whose production had vanished for over 80 years, is reborn through extensive research, collection, and transmission work. An initiative that allows the recovery of ancient motifs and natural dyeing techniques, while simultaneously paving the way for contemporary creation.
Resurrecting a forgotten craft by reconnecting with the gestures and expertise of yesteryear, an ambition that resonates with the festival’s slogan. On the first floor of Villa Boulkine, hosting this edition, the carpets from the Tigurarin workshop catch the eye through the richness of their patterns and the diversity of their colors.
Behind these artisanal pieces lies patient research and transmission conducted by the Association for the Rights of the Child, Adolescent, and Woman Artisan (Adeafa). Launched in December 2006 by this non-profit association created in 2003 in Timimoun, the workshop set itself the mission of reviving the region’s traditional carpet. “Our association did nearly twenty years of research work for the renaissance of the traditional Timimoun carpet, whose manufacturing had disappeared for over 80 years,” asserts Nour El Houda Kadiri to Le Jeune Independent.
Between 2003 and 2006, research concentrated on gathering information and recovering ancient models. Pieces preserved in Algiers museums, notably the Bardo Museum and the Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, were studied. “The association’s president and the workshop manager recovered models from these museums to be able to work and bring about the renaissance,” she specifies.
Other models were found among descendants of European families who lived in Algeria during the colonial period. Reconstituting the carpets also required rediscovering vegetal dyeing techniques. After reaching out to various chambers of craftsmanship, association members pursued their research to find someone mastering this expertise. “We also called upon a French craftswoman who performed natural dyeing in Algeria during the 1950s […] to recover our lost know-how,” recounts Nour El Houda Kadiri.
The Secret of Natural Dyes
The workshop’s labor successfully recovered a palette of colors obtained from natural materials. Henna, onion skins, arak wood, known as siwak, pomegranate rinds, and tea rank among the utilized products. Indigo and cochineal are also cited among materials allowing various shades to be obtained.
Fixation constitutes an essential step in the process. Alum stone is primarily utilized to preserve colors and prevent them from fading, explains the spokesperson. While manufacturing principles remain close to those of past times, certain equipment has evolved. The ancient terracotta vats have thus given way to stainless steel vats, which allow mixtures to be prepared while limiting oxidation.
At the end of this endeavor, the workshop succeeded in reproducing about sixty heritage carpet models. Training sessions and practical internships were subsequently organized between 2009 and 2011 to transmit these techniques to craftswomen. The objective was to enable them to master the region’s traditional motifs, as well as the various confection stages. Weaving activity progressively developed, with the acquisition of dedicated equipment for wool weaving and spinning.
Following the reconstitution of the ancient repertoire, Tigurarin also oriented itself toward contemporary creation. Collaborations with interior designers and painters gave birth to new motifs inspired by traditional models, adapted to modern decoration trends and client expectations, according to Nour El Houda Kadiri. This evolution also responds to Timimoun’s touristic vocation, where visitors may seek out different color associations.
Craftswomen can opt for a heritage or contemporary model, rely on a photograph to reproduce its patterns, then choose the dimensions and colors of their creation. Production time varies according to design complexity and detail precision. “The creation of one square meter, for instance, takes three to four weeks,” indicates Nour El Houda Kadiri.
The initiative was notably driven by Nour El Houda Kadiri’s parents, whose father presides over Adeafa. In 2003, the association forged a partnership with TusAlsace France, contributing to embedding this preservation and transmission approach within a cooperative dynamic.