(Photo Credit: Dad)
Boubon, a small village on the banks of the Niger River, comes to life every Wednesday as peddlers and customers come together under the shade of woven mat canopies. People arrive in shallow wooden boats, called pirogues, which are piled with sacks of grain, plastic buckets, pumpkins, and cages full of guinea hens. Cows swim next to the boats – their owners holding onto their horns so they won’t get lost. In the market, you can find a variety of products – large, yellow calabash bowls; woven straw mats; chunks of translucent Gum Arabic for thickening sauces; cows, goats, and sheep; second-hand bicycles and radios; and the beautiful, painted ceramic jars for which Boubon is famous. To learn more about these jars, see my Photo Highlight: Nigerien Coolers.
106 Meters from the Road 