Thirty years ago it was commonplace to see wooden looms in villages across the Sahel. Like horses, they were an essential part of everyday life that has all but disappeared from the region. Nowadays it can take a four wheel drive and a GPS to find one, as I found out recently while seeking out…
Sahelian women know a thing or two about resourcefulness. How else could they raise six children (the national average) and live in one of the world’s harshest climates? Take Maryama Tamboura for example. Every rainy season, she grows three or four cotton plants. They provide just enough cotton to spin into yarn for fixing her…