3. BACK TO TIMBUKTU

I left Italy during a snowstorm. The weather was so bad that the flight had to be postponed for one day. I like trips that start problematically; I know from experience that it’s a good sign.

I land in Bamako, the city of mangoes. Another world.

A small plane from Timbuktu takes me to the sands of the desert.

Tahara, who hosts me at the Mahtaj hotel, entrusted me to a young Tuareg (the language is Tamaschek) to help me. Mansur works for her in the restaurant; he will be my guide during my stay.

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Al Mansour

I left immediately to look for a place to dig a new well to mount the wind pump that will soon arrive from France. People told me there was a need for water in the suburbs of cities, where the municipality has not yet installed drinking water. Mansur and I went to understand the situation. When you undertake to solve a problem, the first thing you need to do is to clearly understand the situation; otherwise, you risk becoming part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
It always takes a few weeks to begin to understand a situation, so I am not in a hurry. I think to stay 2 or 3 months to realize my project.

The city is expanding into the desert sands that besiege it. Strangely, Timbuktu is conquering the desert, but only to become part of it, like a desolate ghost town.
The rich people of the city, at the municipal level, parcelled out the uncultivated lands, bought them cheaply, and forced the poor people to move further and further out. Then they build and sell real estate, making big profits. This is the reason why I do not want to dig a well on public land: it will increase its value, the rich will buy it, and the mud houses of the poor will be pushed further and further away.
My intention is to help the poor, not the rich.

The water is brought by donkey to the suburbs, not only for drinking, but also for building. It takes a lot of water to build a house. A lot of it is necessary to transform dirt into mud bricks.

After visiting the outskirts of the city, I realized that this was not the right place. I should have bought a lot of very expensive land to dig my well. The municipality would soon sell the land all around it, and the poor people living there would be displaced.