Le Souk Tarek Tlilli

Artisan Organization: Le Souk

Country: Tunisia

Tarek Tlilli, age 34 and newly a father, lost his job at a furniture factory in Nabeul in 2013 when the factory shut down. Sadly, his story is not unique—the 2011 Tunisian revolution left a shaky economy in its wake and to this day unemployment rates are high.

Enter Le Souk, a craft workshop in Nabeul that in 2013 was just getting their new olive wood studio, Le Souk Olivique, off the ground—happily just in time to scoop Tarek into their ranks based on the very skills he’d acquired in the defunct factory.

Particularly deft at using the machinery to create curves and round pieces, Tarek’s steady hand is responsible for your new knife’s delicate slope. Meanwhile, his alliance with Le Souk has carved a quiet prosperity into his and his family’s future.