Since the great drought of 1973 the sand has been
rising in Timbuktu as the rate of five centimetres a year. To try to hold back the rising
sand, trees and grass are being planted in a circle around the entire city. Bintu Toure,
the President of one of Timbuktu's many womens' groups, explains: "We knew that the
sand was moving towards the city and we had to do something to stop it in order to save
the city. We did a lot of research and learned that land with good vegetation-cover gets
enough rain. There are about 80 different women's groups in Timbuktu and most of them are
involved in planting trees, grass and gardens to help stop the sand." |
