Caravan

A film by Dam Sall and Jakob Hogel

Every September a group of nomad women in Niger travel by camel caravan across the stark desert, 660 miles each way. Their first stop is Fachi, an oasis where they collect dates which they bring to various market towns where the dates are sold or exchanged for millet and other goods crucial to the survival of their tribe.

The caravan is unique in that women organize and lead it without men. The women journey through the extremely difficult terrain of one of the largest sand deserts in the Sahara. The trip takes about two weeks. The wells are two, three, or four days apart. It takes great skill to navigate in the desert so as not to miss this vital water supply. Some of the women nurse babies and carry children.

The film captures the awesome quality of the desert and the strength and solidarity of the women who undertake this journey for the livelihood of their families.

28 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $65.

African Studies Association, 2006