some of my friends and their life

Men, women, and children spend hours every week looking for this type of grass in the bush. They dry it and then bundle it in order to sell in the market for a little cash.
















Here is a “grandfather” of mine who uses the above mentioned grass to make things. I have been trying to learn how to make items out of the grass with this grandfather. Nothing I do is ever as pretty as his work.
















So the weather has cooled off since the beginning of November, but things have gotten quite dusty. Throughout the day it looks like fog covering the horizon, but there is no fog in Niger – it’s pure dust!
















Following the chief’s son throughout the village. In a village I’ve recently started visiting, the chief’s son has been showing me around. The Fulani live in small family compounds within a larger village. At first glance the villages are small or non-existent, but they are there and often very big. Without this man showing the way, I would have been lost and never found the compounds.















Mom and oldest son trekking to the well. This family has to go to the well several times a day because between the two wives there are 10 children. The well is over a mile away. The water is carried in these ceramic containers on top of their heads.
















Who can run and jump the highest? Kids are pretty much the same everywhere. They don’t like to wear clothes or bathe. They want to play all day and do no work. The main difference between these Fulani kids and kids elsewhere is that they don’t have a school.
















An older lady heading out to the field with her ax in order to gather some millet. Everyone in Fulani culture has work. The day is filled with pounding, going to the well, searching for fire wood, cooking, feeding the animals, taking care of children, farming, harvesting, selling…















Walking through the millet with Musa and a handful of children. When it’s not farming season, Musa spends most of his time looking for grass and then making various things out of the grass in order to sell. He makes mats, baskets, hats, and rope.