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A jewel in the heart of Kabylia.
It was with great fanfare that the 13th edition of the Ath-Yenni jewelry festival was kicked off last Thursday. In the presence of local authorities and many lovers of traditional art, the secretary general of the wilaya, Miloud Fellali, gave the starting signal for this craft and commercial event, which is scheduled to close on the 27th of this month.
This annual festival is hosted by two sites. The first is the CEM Larbi-Mezani and the second is the Ali-Keddache Youth House. And it was at the first site that the event was kicked off, in which, according to the organizers, 150 artisans from 15 wilayas of the country took part.
At the opening of this event, the president of the APC of Ath-Yenni, Abdellah Djennane, declared that the artisan jeweler encounters a multitude of obstacles, including the scarcity of the raw material, coral in this case. “Therefore, he said, we are launching a distress call to the public authorities regarding the need to create a special fund for aid and solidarity for the benefit of artisans.” The president of APC, however, revealed only part of the truth surrounding the world of crafts in general and the jeweler in particular. For his part, the president of the Bureau of the Forum of the Roots of Algerian Culture in Crafts (BFRCAMA) of the wilaya of Boumerdès, Mohamed Cheref, revealed to Young Independent some realities surrounding the world of jewelry and other artisanal products. This concerns, firstly, according to our interlocutor, the silver material imported from Germany and resold in Algeria at an exorbitant price.
The same quantity paid the equivalent of 1,800 DA in Germany and resold in Algeria at 18,000 DA. In other words, the sale of this silver product is done according to the requirement of the black market. The second point undermining the honorability and material interests of the authentic craftsman, according to Mohamed Cheref, is none other than the fake craftsmen. “They are simple traders with a mercantile mentality who pretend to be jeweler craftsmen,” he stressed. The other harmful element highlighted by the president of BFRCAMA is the use of counterfeit raw material, that is to say fake coral. This fake coral is often imported from China and Turkey. “In this case, we cannot compete with our counterparts in the southern Mediterranean Basin, particularly the Tunisians,” said our interlocutor.
Mohamed Cheref indicated that a law, published in the Official Journal of March 2019, stipulates that any craftsman can import raw materials himself. However, this product must only be used for his personal needs within the framework of his profession. “And if,” continued Mohamed Cheref, “the product is not used in its entirety during the declared period, the craftsman concerned must report the remaining quantity to the tax department of his wilaya.” The president of the BFRCAMA admitted that many craftsmen are unaware of the existence of this law, hence “the duty of customs and tax administration officials, as well as the first magistrates of communes to carry out awareness campaigns for the benefit of jeweler artisans on this specific chapter.”
There are still other segments that harm the jeweler. These include, among others, the rental price of the marquee. In some wilayas, and especially during certain events, the exhibitor pays a sum that can reach 150,000 DA, according to testimonies collected. For this jewelry festival, the rental of the marquee is priced at 15,000 DA. This is what an exhibitor indicated to Young Independent. Concerning the acquisition of the raw material, many artisan jewelers have given the same testimony. Authentic coral is acquired on the black market at a price that can reach, in some cases, 20,000 DA per gram. On the other hand, poor quality coral can be acquired at a price of 500 DA per gram.
But where does the authentic coral go in considerable quantities? The commercial transaction takes place on the high seas and often at night. The sellers are naturally Algerians since this maritime product is extracted from the national seabed. The buyers are of various nationalities.
Turkish, Italian, Corsican and French people in particular, it was revealed, adding that the commercial currency is exclusively the euro and the US dollar. It should be noted that the coral deemed to be of poor quality by these foreign buyers is either thrown into the sea or brought to national ports to be offered to artisan jewelers.
And it goes without saying that if a jeweler is caught red-handed buying this material, he risks a heavy fine or even a prison sentence. This is the reality of the world of the jeweler. Finally, let us point out that not all jewelers complain about their status. Many of them have become rich as Croesus through their legal or illegal activities. This wealth is often hidden too.