Village near Tahoua, Niger

This village near Tahoua in the southwest of Niger has typical haoussa features with its cubic houses made out of banco (mix of soil and vegetal fibres) and imposing egg-shaped granaries. Most haoussa people who represent 54% of the country's population are sedentary farmers. However, they mostly owe their reputation to the quality of their craft industry and their business sense. The haoussa city-states have indeed imposed their commercial strength on several African countries for many centuries. A trunk road commonly referred to as the " uranium route " that leads to the North, goes through the Tahoua region : a deposit, discovered in 1965 in the subsoil of the Aïr Mountains gave rise to the Arlit mines. Every year, just over 3 000 tons of uranium, about 8% of the world's production, are extracted from these mines. This makes Niger the fourth or fifth largest uranium producer in the world depending on the year.