Tanout town |
|
|
| The Tanout area, just south
of the Sahara desert, is one of the driest inhabited places on earth. |
People's
main problems are lack of food, water and a stable environment.
|
Eden
has been running a project here since 1987.
|
Our
solution is to bring them trees and bushes that will grow naturally
and produce food. |
| Niger
is one of the hottest and poorest countries in the world, and has
a population of 10 million. |
The
capital is Niamey, and is located in the south west. |
The
climate is hot and very dry.
|
Environmental issues are
desertification, soil erosion, deforestation
(in the south) and overgrazing. |
| Life
expectancy is 47,5 years. |
50%
of the population is under 15 years of age. |
Major
ethnic groups are hausa, djerma, fulani, tuareg and kanuri. |
Adult literacy rate is 15% |
90%
of the population are involved in agriculture or cattle raising.
|
Only
a small percentage of the country is cultivable. |
Farmers
employ slash-and-burn practices to get rid of their trees. |
Today,
four-fifths of the country consist of desert. |
| Rainy
season lasts for 3 months. |
After
that, the country becomes dry again.
|
The
only constant greenness is found around the river Niger in the extreme
south- west. |
In
the rest of the country, access to fresh water is very limited and
the nearest well may be 20 km away. |
|
Eden's 
Villages where farmers have 
