The Sahel is a fragile environment where rainfall is sparse and unreliable. Millet and sorghum crops can grow well in the dry conditions, succeeding in a good year but failing when the rains are poor. Nomadic herders make good use of these difficult conditions, moving their sheep, goats, cows and camels to areas which have received the most rain.
Unfortunately for the people of Burkina Faso, these dry conditions have been creeping southwards, threatening to turn farmland to desert. Farmers everywhere say that the rainfall is less than it was when they were children, and the rainy season much shorter. Rainfall records support these claims.
The reasons for these worsening conditions are not clear. Some scientists believe that the world's climate has been changing, leading to an expansion of the Sahara desert and the Sahel. But it also seems certain that deforestation has played an important part, as farmers have cleared land for their crops and removed trees for fuelwood. Without trees and plants to protect it, the soil is carried away in the dry season by hot easterly winds, and washed into the rivers during the rains. The bare land reflects the sun's heat, reducing clouds and further reducing the chance of rain.
To combat this serious environmental damage, since 1981 the government has been encouraging farmers to return to their traditional methods, and to introduce innovative techniques, including diguettes - stone lines laid along the contours of fields, which catch rain water and reduce soil erosion.
diguettes
A diguette is a line of stones which are laid along the contours of gently sloping farmland to catch rain water and reduce soil erosion. Awa Bundani, from Siguin Voussé village, explains why the diguettes are so important to her community:
"Last year the rains were good. But in some years they stop, and the crops die. If the rains fail, we go hungry. We collect all the wild fruits. We shake the shea trees to collect even the last nut, to make butter. Some fruits like those from the kar tree we only use when food is short. We eat them crushed and mixed with water.
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"The diguettes have made a huge difference. Before the compost and the soil were washed away. And when the rain was poor the soil would dry out quickly. We knew it was a problem, but we didn’t know what to do about it. It was said that during our grandparents’ time there was more rain and plenty of food. The rains came earlier and lasted longer. I don’t think we get the same rains now.
"Since we built the diguettes, the land produces more. We would have had only one bag of groundnuts, where now we get two. Since last year we have wheelbarrows and tools to help us with work on the diguettes and in building houses. This makes the work much less."
Awa has four surviving children, including Mariam, who tells you all about herself and her school in the daily life section.
Photos for Oxfam GB by Crispin Hughes and Jeremy Hartley
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