Boubon

Boubon sits on the Niger a short way upstream of Niamey and its women have made pottery there for generations, coiling and beating clay from the riverbank into water jars, cooking pots and lids without a wheel, then firing them in open pits in the sand. A Sunday market brings the work together with produce and livestock, and hippos live in the river below the village.

Background

Boubon lies 27.8 km northwest of central Niamey, on the left bank of the Niger in the Commune of Karma, Kollo Department, Tillabéri Region, at 195 to 199 metres. A sandy seasonal stream, the Guendiora, borders it on the east and joins the river here, while low rocky slopes of the plateau close it in to the north and west. Sarando Ganda, Sarando Béné, Béri and Dambou Béri face it across the river. It is one of Niger's main pottery centres, though production is neither large scale nor centralized, and the pots are made by women in their own households. Rainfall is around 450 mm a year, 92% of it between June and September.

Source: Wikipedia, "Boubon"

What's there

• The hand-built pots - vessels coiled and beaten without a wheel.
• The pit firing - open firings in the sand beside the river.
• The Sunday market - pottery, produce and livestock together.
• The river - the Niger below the village, with hippos in it.

When to go

Sunday is market day and when the village is fullest. November to February is the cool season. The river is highest around January and February.

Good to know

The village is a working place rather than a demonstration, and access to firings depends on timing. Photography should be asked for. Hippos in the river are dangerous and should be watched from a distance.

Nearby

Niamey is east, and Ayorou is northwest.