December 2009

This last section started with a two day journey on a pirogue up the River Niger from Timbuktu to Mopti rejoining the cycling line at Sevare, then pushing on to the Dogon Country where we stayed in a village called Djiguibombo (pronounced Jiggiboombo). From there I cycled across the border into Burkina Faso, staying in the town of Ouahigouya before a final 190km monster day into Ouagadougou!

A visit to Timbuktu would not be complete without visiting the library, mosque and markets. In keeping with the same themes of importance as Oualata and Djenne, Timbuktu exists as a centre for Saharan trade. The Touareg (people of the desert) settled at Timbuktu as it is well placed at the most northerly point of the River Niger, where it flows through desert sands. Here desert traders can meet river traders. Camping beside the river the first settlers noticed they suffered much illness, so Timbuktu is set 18km north of the river in the dry desert sands. To find out more click on link: Timbuktu’s wonderful history.

The library benefits from contributions worldwide. Compared to Oualata, the main library is beautifully kept; the manuscripts well displayed and protected in a climate controlled atmosphere away from direct light in glass cabinets. Great efforts are being made to preserve manuscripts some of which are up to 1000 years old. One of the more interesting books I thought was a 16^th century manuscript outlining the rights of Islamic women – that all Islamic women have the right to spend time to make themselves more beautiful. The world’s oldest book is also on display. They don’t really know it’s age but it was rediscovered in the 11^th Century. It had been stolen by the Moroccans many years before and buried underground. Timbuktu attracted some of the greatest scholars of the day, and so many manuscripts were written there as well as brought over the desert from as far away as Iraq and the Middle East. I started to wonder about whether there could be some sort of partnership formed with Oualata to preserve their treasures. I understand that the doors are open for anyone from Oualata to visit and learn about how to catalogue and preserve their books, but they need to approach Timbuktu.

Paddy and I took a pirogue back down from Timbuktu to Mopti. Paddy had been ill so we were quarantined on the pirogue which was towed beside a larger public pinnace. John and Dan drove the vehicle back to Sevare. This was an opportunity to take a different look at life on the river and how all those who live near it rely on the Niger for everything; food, transport, water… The river is massive, often a kilometre or two wide. About 100km north of Mopti the waters disperse into Lake Beda where the normally calm waters became a little choppy. Next we entered a sea of reeds which normally lined the banks. The boats cut through a maze of channels through which we wondered how the captain navigated at night.

The only downside of the two day trip was that I ended up with another gastro after being served the same sauce for three meals. I was over the worst of it quickly but it did have a lasting effect for another week or so, until after Ouagadougou.

John had to do some work on the vehicle which meant we did not set out from Sevare until 3pm the following day. Our destination was the Dogon Country, Mali’s biggest tourism draw card. We knocked off the first 60km to Bandiagara in daylight. The next 21km however to Djiguibombo was in the dark; Dan and I cycling on our own for the first ten, feeling a little vulnerable without light in a strange place. Djiguibombo is set at the top of the Falaise de Bandiagara (cliff face which extends 150km, all the way up to Douentza which we visited en route to Timbuktu). It was a wonderful sight overlooking the tipi-like thatched rooftops and labyrinth of mud-walled houses in the early morning light. Dan and I coasted down to the bottom of the falaise on a spectacular 9km ride to Kani Kombole where we left our bikes and vehicle for a two day diversion on foot with our Dogon guide, Moumimi (Momo). This was the final stage of looking at the cultures of the Niger River region. Two days is just long enough to get a taste of the complex and elaborate culture. To really do it justice you could easily spend a week or two walking all the way to Douentza.

Passing a rather beautiful little mosque (mini Djenne architecture) Momo explained that Islam and Christianity (late comers in the scheme of Dogon history) co-exist with more traditional Dogon animism. Everyone respects each others’ religion bit they do not intermarry. We made a simple 4km walk to Teli. From a distance we could see a series of boxes and dwellings built into the cliff. After lunch we climbed up to explore. The boxes were an extensive series of granary stores. Most grains these days are stored in the village at ground level and these elevated stores are only used to hold millet, sorghum and beans after a very good year. Built into the rock and in higher positions were tiny houses. Momo described these people as pygmies; the guide book calls them the Tellem people. These were the original inhabitants who lived off the fruits of the forest below. Living high up would have given them a great vantage point to defend themselves and stay safe from large predators. The Dogon believed that the Tellem could fly and had magic powers to reach them. The Tellem also used to bury the dead in their little houses. It seems more plausible that the climate a few hundred years ago was wetter and the Tellem used overhanging vines to climb to their houses. The Dogon and Bozo people arrived in the region roughly 300 years ago. The Bozo are the traditional fishermen who chose to inhabit the banks of the Niger (and still do). The Dogon arrived in the region and pushed out the Tellem so they retreated east. The Dogon cut down the forest for firewood, cultivated fields and raised animals. They basically destroyed the Tellem habitat so they could find nothing to eat. From high up the landscape is typically dry and bare and studded by regular, compact villages. Up in the cliff is the home of the Hogon, the spiritual leader. The Teli Hogon died about ten years ago. Aparently they have chosen a new one, but he is not yet ready to assume the mantle. Hogons are usually old wise men.

We walked on to Ende, Momo’s home town (population approximately 3000) where we stopped for the night. Ende has similar architecture set in the cliff face above the town. On day two we put in a decent distance; walking along the base of the escarpment, then climbed a natural chasm to Begnimato at the top. Compared to the kind of day I’d usually put in on the bike, walking 20-odd kilometres was a doddle on the cardiovascular side, but feet and knees, especially on the downhill, weren’t used to it. The slope was lush and green with overhanging vines and ficus trees. Views from the head of the chasm were spectacular. Begnimato’s setting amongst the rocks, with three individual villages (animist, Christian, Muslim) was special. After a long lunch break we started to make our way back, along the top of the escarpment to Indelou, the most amazing village we visited, then via a series of steps and laddersdown another chasm. Indelou was animist only – there was no mosque. I had the impression that of the villages we had seen, this was the most pristine – most like the original Dogon culture. In Begnimato and Indelou you can see how people use the rooves of their houses to store much of their food. It makes for an interesting and colourful patchwork.

Over the last couple of weeks we have visited Mali’s trifecta of World Heritage sites; Djenne, Timbuktu and the Dogon Country. The region is probably West Africa’s biggest attraction and the fact that they are in reasonable proximity means tourism is the major source of income. Timbuktu is obviously being hit by the security alert and the fact that the French have pulled their expats from the area. I felt tourism is being managed reasonably (I have seen much worse management). All walkers pretty much travel with a Dogon guide to get the best of the region. This is also a safeguard that groups remain small and the paths were not full of litter. Each visitor also pays a tourist tax for every village they explore so that this can help them preserve their heritage and sustain their income. Djenne also had better infrastructure, such as drains and ongoing maintenance of the mosque and streets.

The following day we said goodbye to Momo and set off towards Bankass, Koro and the Burkina Faso border. After about 40km, Dan could cycle no longer; his knee had become sore on the ride into Djiguibombo. He had kept it pretty quiet hoping he could work through it, but for quite some time he had been basically cycling with one leg. I cycled on alone – 162km that day on gravel road, all the way to Ouahigouya, then 189km the following day to reach Ouagadougou. I had to keep my wits about me and find a little more in my tired legs to negotiate peak hour traffic entering the city. Two crazy days, but it did allow us to catch up a day and give more time to organise the next complicated stages of the journey.

Of all the African cities so far, Ouagadougou seems a bit more low key and better organised. There are even cycle/motorcycle lanes which allow the traffic to flow a little better. There somehow seemed to be less pressure, yet nothing particularly remarkable to see.

In Ouagadougou we have been looked after so very well by Gryphon Minerals, one of our mining sponsors. A special thank you must go to Isabelle, Pascal, Alice and Martin for taking care of us.

Next we’re heading to Kaya and the Samentenga region north east of Ouagadougou to visit a couple of Plan International projects, concentrating on education, and in particular girls’ education.

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We left Segou energised and ready to appreciate some better road surfaces. We had wanted to take a short cut closer to the River Niger all the way to Djenne, but there was no guarantee that the road was free from flooding, so we opted for the main road via Bla and San (80km longer). For the first time on the expedition I felt like we were starting to get a good rhythm and cover the distances to which I am usually accustomed – consistently 130-140km, even with a constant north easterly wind. The main road skirts the Niger River floodplain. The terrain was so flat all the way to Djenne that perhaps the highest landmarks were the giant termite mounds! Our goal was to reach the ancient town in time for the famous Monday market set in front of the Grande Mosque. After two long days in the saddle we were slightly short of the town (as we expected), marked the GPS coordinates and drove to Djenne, set on an island in the Bano River, a large tributary of the Niger.

Djenne, a town of roughly 20,000 people is most famous for its mosque, the world’s largest mud building and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Djenne is a similar age and exists for similar reasons as Timbuktu; trade and education. The town is one of Mali’s premier tourist sites. We were all up early the following day in readiness to capture the Monday market as it evolved with the morning light. We had not realised that the national holiday on Saturday continued into Monday and the bustling market never eventuated. This, of course was a little disappointing, however once I found Amadou, a very good guide, we were able to spend a good couple of hours learning about the town, the mosque and its history.

The world’s largest mud building is constantly being renovated. Before the Wet season the whole community gathers to repair the walls, adding a layer of fine mud render where required. Year after year of adding to the thickness of the walls eventually means they are too thick, absorb too much weight after the rains and collapse in places. Therefore some of the walls are being reduced in size to keep the balance. Mud for the render is mixed with rice husks to make a smooth surface whereas mud for the core of the walls is combined with straw. Even though we had offers to enter the building (for a decent price) we respected the wishes of the Limam (head of the Mosque) and local community and elected to stay outside. Some tourists abused the privilege a few years ago so now entry is reserved for all local men and local women who have visited Mecca. Women can only enter the mosque via a special entrance around the back of the building and once inside are not permitted to even see men.

Like Oualata and Timbuktu, Djenne has a strong tradition of education with 22 Q’uranic schools (where they are schooled in rote learning the Q’uran), many Madrassas and now government schools. A library houses ancient manuscripts.

We retraced our route to where we had stopped cycling, camped and resumed our journey towards Sevare (near Mopti). I noticed that the floodplain was more fertile and much more was being grown. A feature of the many villages was rows of grain storehouses where their staple foods are kept for use or sale. The dinky little mud huts are built off the ground to prevent moisture seeping into the grains (usually millet, rice, sorghum). They are such a contrast to how we store grains in bulk in Australia.

Sevare, a gateway to the Dogon country (more about this when we visit the unique cultural region after Timbuktu) is very well set up for tourism, with good amenities. The write up given to Mac’s Refuge by a number of guide books is well-justified and help keep Mac ahead of the competition. We have not found better food or service to date in Africa. Cycling after Mac’s special breakfast was a real challenge. My metabolism has suitably cranked up now the process obscene amounts of food. Breakfast here included: two huge buckwheat pancakes (made from millet flour) soaked in honey, numerous pieces of French toast, a large bowl of amazing homemade muesli, two helpings of fruit salad, juice and coffee.

I cycled the 400km from Sevare to Timbuktu alone. Dan took over the filming for a couple of days as Paddy wanted some days off. The first day and a half, from Sevare to Douenza was an amazing, almost continuous procession of nomadic herders driving their stock, usually goats, sheep or cattle beside the road. Donkeys are real beasts of burden, hauling massive loads of firewood, grains, goats, people – just about anything. From about 50km before Douenza, the scenery on both sides of the road was special, my favourite of the journey so far. The hills which form the Falaise de Bandiagara to the south and near Douenza, a spectacular mountain range with sheer cliff faces rising to over a thousand metres.

We had heard all sorts of unfavourable reports about the road to Timbuktu from Douenza and I was up for a tussle with larger tracts of sand within the 200km. Apart from some large sand patches in the final 30km before the River Niger, the road was heavily corrugated (in fact I was shaken to bits) but manageable. I conquered the road, which had definitely been upgraded, in two days. On the second night we stayed beside a nomadic farmer, who brought us firewood and swept some ground for us to camp. We in return gave them some food – basics they probably didn’t have much of, such as sugar, potatoes, onions, rice and some tinned food.

I was amazed at the size of the Niger, Africa’s third largest river. We took the barge across, which I guess to be about two kilometres. After that there were just 18km of tarmac to reach Timbuktu. I remember my grandmother often saying “from here to Timbuktu” referring to a place which was a long or inaccessible distance away. Nowadays people can fly, drive, take a boat, walk, ride a camel…but not too many people cycle to the ancient, mystical city of approximately 50,000. Europeans didn’t make to Timbuktu until the mid-1800’s. A number were killed trying. As I arrived at the hotel where we had chosen to stay I was suddenly surrounded by press, a well-known Mali media personality and a TV camera. It took me by complete surprise. Recent kidnapping incidents in Gao, 400km away and in western Mauritania have rocked the local economy, which relies heavily on tourism. They wanted to demonstrate to the public on national and African TV that Timbuktu is safe – even a woman on a bicycle can arrive safely only experiencing friendly, helpful people (completely true). Of course we had read the alerts but also have some very reliable Touareg contacts who advised that our route is safe. John knows these people, has worked with them before and has complete faith in their advice.

Tomorrow Paddy and I will take a classic pirogue boat on a three day, two night trip back down to Mopti to obtain a more in depth look at life on the River Niger, the lifeline for all those who live beside it. John and Dan will drive back to Sevare, 12km from Mopti. There we will rejoin the line continuing the journey through the Dogon country and on to Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso.

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I have been very fortunate to spend two days visiting the Millennium Villages of Tiby – a cluster of 11 villages near Segou. I have been looked after by Dr Bocary Kaya, team leader and science coordinator. I also spent time with Severin Omar, an MBA graduate working for The Millennium Promise organisation. On the first day, Bocary asked me to sit in on the annual planning meeting where the direction of the project was presented to the Millennium Village community leaders and employees to be discussed and implemented.

The next day Paddy and I travelled out to the villages with Sev this time to deliver onion seeds to the women working a six hectare market garden. After listening and learning for the last two days I am confident that sustainable changes are occurring and that we will not have another “Oualata situation” in Segou. Like in Potou (Senegal) this initiative has only been going for three years, however within that time there have been dramatic positive changes.

The Millennium Villages are supported and funded by a number of international organisations, however in Segou it seems that the program is being largely implemented by The Millennium Promise, an American organisation based in New York and the UN Development Program. It is also important to note that there are many stakeholders, often a number for each project which comes from international, national and local organisations and governments. While they provide funding for specific projects and control the overall direction, I find it most impressive that the whole project is being implemented and run by local Malian people; leaders, scientists, professionals.

The purpose of the Millennium Village program across Africa is to implement strategies in villages in selected vulnerable zones to ensure the Millennium Development Goals are achieved by 2015. Dr Kaya explained that while this is also the plan in Segou, they are looking at the development of the region as a whole, using advancements in science and business development to make changes sustainable. Dr Kaya has studied for his masters’ degree in Bedford, UK and earned his PhD in the US. While he could have had a successful life living and working in the US or UK, he has realised and is motivated to make more of a difference in his homeland, Mali where his education, skills and experience are so much in demand.

The meeting took place in Dioro, the largest village (approximately 20,000 people), on the banks of the Niger River, 60km north of Segou. Over about four hours the development strategy for the next year was presented by different specialists, led and facilitated by Dr Kaya. The meeting was in French, but I could get the gist of it all, made notes and was able to clarify the main details with Bocary afterwards. Infrastructure was first. Details were outlined for the improvement of roads, irrigation banks, transport, street lighting and importantly communications. In the next year there will be improvements in mobile phone reception and internet connections; communications being key to sustainable development. Food security is a big issue here with unreliable rainfall and climatic conditions not too dissimilar to what we experience in much of Australia. The river is the lifeline here for just about everything; food production (irrigation, fishing), transport, forestry. Presented were detailed plans for use of fertilisers (urea, di-ammonia phosphate) for staple crops such as millet, sorghum, rice. An artificial insemination program is being introduced to improve the standard of the herds for milk and meat production. New specifically designed milking machines will also be introduced which can process 1000 litres a day, pasteurise, pack into one litre bags, and control the temperature for storage.

The changes in the education system have been startling. Levels of literacy have increased dramatically in the region. Three years ago the average rate of literacy was around 46%, as low as 33% in some pockets. With a marked improvement in access to primary education (MDG 2 being universal primary education for all), an improved teacher to student ratio and an improved program of teacher support, literacy levels have increased to around 80%, 85% in some cases. There have traditionally been three different forms of education; government backed basic primary education (core subjects – reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.), Medersas teaching Islamic subjects and Koranic learning (rote learning of the Qur’an). Now there is a more integrated approach using these various forms of learning.

I learned that much is being done to improve the standard of health care. Malaria has been a serious issue but now people have free access to medication. They are also able to reduce the morbidity rates for HIV/AIDS (2% in Mali), TB and childbirth. There is an education program to change the cultural practice of FGM (female genital mutilation) which is widely still practiced in many African countries. Much is being done for reproductive health care; baby kits to assist home births, medical attention for fistulas.

The last main presentation I heard was about community governance and the empowerment of women/women’s issues. My notes are by no means complete, but I learned a fair amount in one day listening to presentations in French!

Over the first three years of this Millennium Village initiative attention has been paid to all the major development topics. Now these are taking shape they are moving into the next level of development; improving science and business. I learned much from Sev the next day when we visited another smaller village to distribute onion seeds to the 243 women who work the vegetable garden. A number of different NGO’s and organisations have had a go at aiding development of the 6 hectares over the last 30 years, but all have ended up a bit like in Oualata – unsustainable. The Millennium Promise received a $US20,000 grant to change the situation, make a sustainable model which can be replicated to at least eight other viable village gardens in the area.

Sev has spent the last eight months developing the project along with his own community relations. This was the day that he finally got to distribute the seeds. Why onions you might ask? They are a vegetable which has a long storage life and as the seasonal market fluctuates the villagers can learn to store some of the produce to be sold later in the season when market prices are much higher, therefore making a reasonable profit. During the course of the year, when stocks are low, villagers are normally forced to sell off some of their staple crops (rice, millet, sorghum) to make ends meet so that by about August they are running very short on food and go hungry. By growing the onions and making more of a profit, they will not be forced to sell their staple produce and therefore avoid hunger. The initial investment involved fixing the fence and irrigation system and providing the right variety of seeds. It is important to note that the seeds are not a hand out. Once the crop is produced, the women are expected to pay back the costs with the profit. Education is given in how to maintain the economic viability – keeping the books, trading – even how to “fix the pump”. In fact, while all these initiatives are subsidised, farmers and villagers are all expected to pay it back, or at least pay for a percentage of what they receive. (everything from the milking machines to the artificial insemination program).

Believe it or not, this is just a quick overview of what I found at Tiby. These projects are such a positive contrast to what I found at Oualata, the key I think being that they are being taught the practical and business skills necessary to ensure these advancements are sustained long after the assistance has ended.

The purpose of the next phase of the expedition is to follow the course of the Niger River from Segou to Timbuktu; the river being a lifeline for the people who live beside it, for culture and development.

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