Gold sellers in the streets of Bachdjerrah: El Houma community identity and globalized economic territory

Abstract

In Algeria, the informal dynamic experienced by the gold sector since the 1980s was accompanied by the creation of informal trading spaces, the most important of which are in Algiers and Oran. These markets play the role of intermediary between the various actors in the informal gold sector, in particular transnational networks for the supply and marketing of the precious metal. The latter is part of this non-hegemonic economic globalization which relies on adventurers of the new market capitalism. Its network spans from Italy, Dubai to Turkey, in particular the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. These transnational networks do not only concern the import of jewelry for consumption, but also the smuggling of gold from Algeria and this is also the case for used gold. In the paper we try to come back to the experiences of informal gold sellers in these transnational precious metal networks.