Fatim, the motorbike taxi entrepreneur in Saolabada, Kéniéba in Mali with her permission. After several years marked by confrontations in the north of the country, Mali is working progressively towards its reconstruction and reunification. The task is difficult, but the citizens of Mali are not objecting. Fatoumata Diaby is an edifying example of this Mali, which is letting go of nothing and is making daily efforts to reconstruct its economy. Fatoumata lives in Sakolabada, in the center of Mali. Global Voices met up with her while she was driving her motorbike taxi. Commonly called “taxinin” or “katakatanin”, motorbike taxis are used today in almost every region of Mali. They serve as public transportation in certain cities like Ségou, where they are trying to supplant taxis to offer a more affordable alternative to city dwellers. In Bamako, they are used to transport baggage. Formerly an activity exclusively done by men, Fatoumata is the first woman to take the handlebars of a “taxinin”. Here is the interview with Fatoumata, by Boukary Konaté for Global Voices. GV: Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Fatoumata Diaby FD: Je me nomme Fatoumata Diaby, j’ai 35 ans. Je suis originaire de Kéniéba, mais je vis avec mon mari à Sakolabada, un village d’orpaillage situé à 26 kms de Kéniéba. Nous avons trois enfants: deux garçons et une fille. Je suis infirmière, mais je n’ai pas eu la chance de pratiquer ce métier. Fatoumata Diaby (FD): My name is Fatoumata Diaby, I am 35 years old. I am originally from Kéniéba, but I live with my husband in Sakolabada, a gold panning village about 26 km from Kéniéba. We have three children: two boys and a girl. I am a nurse, but I haven't had the chance to practice this occupation. GV: Yesterday, I met you at Kati on a motorbike taxi going to Kéniéba. You told me that you were coming to buy motorbike taxis in Bamako in order to go sell them in Kéniéba. You drive these motorbike taxis from Bamako to Kéniéba. Explain to us why and for how long you have done this work? FD: Parfois, les choses arrivent d’elles-mêmes. Je suis infirmière de formation, mais Dieu ne m’a pas donné la chance de pratiquer ce métier. Au lieu de me croiser les bras, j’ai ouvert un restaurant en 2011 à Sakolabada. Mais je ne pouvais pas me contenter de ce seul travail pour ma famille. J’ai acheté un moto-taxi, j’ai appris à le conduire et j’ai commencé à faire le transport de bagages dans les zones d’orpaillages. Ceux qui font de l’orpaillage ont besoin de transporter leurs pierres auprès du moulin pour extraire de l’or. Je me chargeais de transporter ces pierres aux moulins. Je transportais également leurs matériels entre la ville de Kéniéba et les zones d’orpaillage, sur leurs lieux de travail. De même, je transportais également de l’eau à vendre aux clients quand il y a une pénurie d’eau sur les lieux. En 2015, j’ai pu ouvrir une boutique de vente de pièces détachées de motos dans le village de Sakolabada. J’ai alors arrêté avec le transport pour me contenter de cette boutique de pièces détachées. Comme les clients savent que je m’y connais un peu aux moto-taxis, ils viennent commander chez moi à chaque fois qu’ils en ont besoin. Alors, je viens acheter les commandes à Bamako, je charge ainsi les pièces détachées que j’achète également à Bamako et je le conduis à Kéniéba ou à Sakolabada. Même s’il n’y a pas de commande, parfois, je viens en acheter pour aller le garer à la boutique pour les clients. C’est comme ça que j’ai commencé ce commerce de moto-taxi. FD: Sometimes, things happen themselves. I am a trained nurse, but God has not given me the chance to practice this occupation. Instead of crossing my arms, I opened a restaurant in 2011 in Sakolabada. But I couldn't make do for my family with only this job. I bought a motorbike taxi, I learned to drive it, and I started to transport baggage in the gold panning areas. Those who do gold panning need to transport their stones to the mill to extract the gold. I took care of transporting these stones to the mill. I also transported their materials between the city of Kéniéba and the gold panning areas, in their workplaces. Likewise, I also transported water to sell to clients when there was a shortage of water in those places. In 2015, I was able to open a store to sell replacement parts for motorbikes in the village of Sakolabada. I then stopped with transportation to focus on this replacement parts store. As the clients know that I am familiar with motorbike taxis, they come order from me every time they need parts. Then I go buy the orders in Bamako and I drive them to Kéniéba or to Sakolabada. Even if there are no orders, sometimes, I go buy a motorbike to park it at the store for the clients. That is how I started in the motorbike taxi business.