Bouillagui

This report is about our classified forest. It’s a very important forest for us in Bouillagui, covering an area of more than 15 km. It is home to a palm tree specie known as the “rônier”. This is the most useful tree in Boullagui, with the trunks used for construction (roofing) and the branches used to make baskets. Around thirty

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Baobab leaves are widely consumed in Bouillagui. After the end of the rainy season, each family has to cut the leaves from a baobab tree. They are used for cooking; they are mixed with couscous and are also used to make sauces for certain dishes. They are eaten everywhere, with neighbouring countries such as Mauritania and Senegal travelling back and

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We will explain how we grow rice in Bouillagui. Around June, as the rainy season approaches, before the first rainfall, the women go to the rice fields in the marigots. They sow the rice grains before the rains come and they take the hoe to cultivate it. The rice can stay under the ground for about 2 months without growing

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Seven years ago a large area of land was set aside for maize cultivation in Bouillagui, but due to climate change and other factors that destroy the land, it has become unfit for cultivation. The solution found to enrich this land without chemical fertilisers is the following. At the time of transhumance, whether it is oxen, sheep or goats, the

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Due to the heavy rains in our region, our wells have suffered enormous damage, even the moulds of some wells have been washed away. To solve this problem, the villagers are bringing in large stones to fill the cracks in order to better cope with the next rainy season and stop the damage.

During the rainy season, groundnuts are grown in Bouillagui. Without chemical fertilisers, groundnuts are grown in the sandy field. The field is first ploughed with an ox-drawn plough, it can take 2-3 days, and for 1-2 weeks the groundnuts are planted.Then the weeding begins with a small daba. During 2 to 3 months the peanuts ripen, and then the harvest

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Maize seed is grown in Bouillagui during the three-month winter season. The seed is chosen for the fastest harvest, which helps families who do not have enough millet. Maize is cultivated in the slightly sandy fields without industrial fertilisers, it is sufficient to use cow dung as a natural fertiliser. Sowing takes place around July, and it is harvested in

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In Bouillagui the blacksmiths are facing serious problems with charcoal, due to the lack of wood in the forest caused by global warming. The tree they use for forging is different from the others. It is called “djebee” in Soninke. It is a big tree that gives a slightly reddish wood. They have to go to Kayes to buy coal.

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Deforestation in Bouillagui is due to global warming and the cutting of trees during the rainy season. Finding wood for cooking is becoming very difficult in the Bouillagui forest. Women used to go to the fields very early in the morning to cultivate and collect wood in the evening when they returned to cook with it. The situation has prompted

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We are going to tell you about the big millet (called fêla in the Soninké language) which is grown in Bouillagui during the winter. It is a very fast seed, which gives a lot of millet. It is grown a lot, but there are also other millet seeds grown in Bouillagui. This one is fast and can withstand a lack

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