The Burkina Faso Sahel
The Burkina Faso sahel is the northern zone of hot, scrubby land that borders the desert. The word "sahel" means "shore", referring to the "shore of the desert". The Burkina Faso sahel includes:
- Oudalan Province - capital: Gorom-Gorom. Other towns: Markoye, Oursi, Deou, Tin A Kof, Essakane, Tassmakat
- Soum Province - capital: Djibo
- Seno Province - capital: Dori
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Markoye |
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Deou |
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Essakane |
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Oursi |
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The church in the sahel |
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The Sahelian Environment
The province has low rainfall, about 300mm/yr, and the landscape for most of the year is dry, generally covered in sparse acacia trees and the occasional baobab. It has traditionally been pasture land for the nomadic Fulani 
and their cattle. As other peoples have moved into the area, increasingly marginal land is being used to farm millet and sorghum, the only crops that really grow in the zone. The increasing population pressure on the land results in the erosion of fertile land and the advance of the desert. The first sand dunes are found here, and in June, as the rainy season is approaching, occasional sand storms roll across the landscape, blocking out the sun.
The Development of the Sahel
The Sahel is the least developed part of Burkina. It is a vastly rural area, used predominantly for livestock, with some farming. There has however been some success in building dams to harvest the rain that falls between July-Sept, to irrigate previously uncultivated land for rainy season rice fields. The zone has been struck by frequent droughts and locust swarms, making for a fragile existence and the well-publicised famines of 1973, 1984, and 2005. Climatic conditions seem to be getting worse with global warming, deforestation and the advance of the desert. The government and development agencies have invested in environmental protection and in reforestation programmes, but wood is increasingly scarce - being sought for daily life in cooking as well as for building. Experiments with alternatives for cooking fuel and for building materials inevitably meet resistance because of cost, inconvenience, and reluctance to leave tradition.Human development in the region is also the most fragile in the country, with low literacy and life expectancy. Oudalan, for example, has a population of about 170 000, with a literacy rate of 8%, a life expectancy of 42, and with only 2 doctors and 34 nurses for the whole province.
There is little in the way of infrastructure, although the first paved road in the area was recently finished in 2006, linking Dori to the nation's capital, Ouagadougou.
The Sahelian Peoples and Culture
The Sahel is inhabited primarily by the Fulani, but there are also many Tamacheq and Songhai especially in Oudalan, and Kurumba villages around Djibo. The southern border of the sahel meets the "Mossi plateau", and some Mossi and other peoples from the south work in the sahel, mostly in commerce or government services, such as teaching, health, or police.
Religion in the Sahel
All the local peoples are predominantly Islamic, and the zone is over 99% Muslim. These people have a strong sense of Islamic identity and worldview, even though some pre-islamic practises continue, adopted by many into their Islamic faith. Few people understand Arabic, and are therefore unable to read the Quran. Even most of the "marabouts" - the prayer leaders and teachers at the mosques have only learned the quran by heart in Arabic, without being able to translate its meaning. Most of what people know has been picked up from teachers, Griots, and the traditions, beliefs, and values passed down through the generations. They hold to the pillars and practices of Islam, and the sense of Islamic community is very strong. There are four main Islamic sects in the region: the Qadriya, Wahabiya, Tijaniya, and Ahmadiya.
Compared with the south, where there are many churches, the Burkina Faso sahel has only a few churches. But there is now a small number of local Christians, mostly Fulani and Songhai, who are increasingly mature. A small, but increasing number of pastors and Christians from the south are also working in the region with vision and commitment.
Read more about the church in the sahel
