"The river is very, very important in the life of the [capital] city. It gives us fish to eat and sell, water to drink, a place to wash and do laundry, and a means of transport. We could not live without the river."

Fish trader, Bamako

The Niger is one of the great rivers of Africa. It stretches over 2,500 miles in a long arc running from Guinea to Mali, right up to the edge of the Sahara, before turning south to the sea. Mali sits at the top of this arc, where the river opens into a massive, fertile, inland delta, where the water spreads out.

The Niger is Mali’s life blood. It provides food, drinking water, and water for farming. It’s also one of the main means of getting around in Mali. In fact it is the only way of getting to some of the more remote places. The river is also vital to traders for transporting crops and goods. During the months when the water is high (between August and November), large boats can travel along the river. Smaller and slower vessels also offer river passage, including pirogues, a type of canoe.

The enormous length of the Niger means that journeys over land in Mali often involve a river crossing. In some areas, this event has become a part of tradition. For example, when their animals are brought back across the Niger from distant grazing lands, the Fulani people in Diafarabé celebrate with a ‘cattle crossing’ festival.

Whole cities like Bamako, the capital, have sprung up alongside the river, reliant on what it provides. Ways of life also depend directly on the Niger. Fishing offers a livelihood to thousands of people, but it can be a hard way to make ends meet.

Find out more by reading a fisherman’s tale.