Dispositif d’Initiatives pour les Métiers de l’Artisanat (DIMA) is a small, community-led nonprofit that is located in Niamey, Niger. DIMA’s mission is to train young people in the skills needed to earn their living as artisans, increase the incomes of practicing craftspeople, and preserve tradition-based arts in Niger.

DIMA provides free vocational training for up to three years in tailoring, leather work, and weaving. Eighty percent of the students are girls and women. There is no charge for instruction, equipment, supplies, or transportation to the school. DIMA is the only accredited vocational training school in Niger that does not require students to have any prior education. Fifty percent of our students have never attended school before enrolling in DIMA.