Tarbiyya Tatali

Supporting Fablabs in Niger

Marie-Françoise — 2025-11-29T10:08:51Z

What is a Fab Lab?
A Fab Lab (short for fabrication laboratory) is a space open to the public where all kinds of machine tools are available for designing and creating objects.
Fab Labs are for students, researchers, and the general public who want to express their creativity and move more quickly from the concept phase to the prototyping phase, or repair broken objects themselves.
They are the spaces for meeting and collaborative creation of tomorrow, disseminating research (...) - Economic Initiatives / Niamey, AECIN, RAEDD, Economic Initiatives

Colonial Crimes Reparations? The Case of the Central Africa Mission (Voulet-Chanoine Column) in Niger

Marie-Françoise — 2025-07-23T19:54:08Z

Representatives of local communities in Niger (including those of Lougou, Dioundiou, and Birni'n Konni) have appealed to international justice for recognition and reparation for the crimes committed by the Central Africa Mission (Voulet-Chanoine Column) in Niger.

Historical Context

The “Central Africa Mission,” which left Senegal in 1898 and was commanded by Captains Voulet and Chanoine, was to reach Lake Chad to join up with the Foureau-Lamy mission crossing the Sahara from Algeria and the Gentil mission coming up from the Congo. The mission, overcrowded and poorly organized to cope with the difficult conditions (particularly with regard to water supplies), encountered resistance from the populations beyond the Niger River. A series of massacres followed: Sansanné Haoussa, Dioundiou, Lougou, Birni'n Konni, where the population was bayoneted...

Let us quote Joalland, a lieutenant in the mission: Once the city was taken, we had to bury all the corpses, which, under the influence of very high temperatures, decomposed immediately. For five days we worked on this chore.

The news of the first massacres reached France, and the government sent Colonel Klobb to relieve Voulet and Chanoine of their command. Klobb was killed on Voulet's orders on July 14, 1899, in Dankori, and then riflemen killed Voulet and Chanoine. See here .

The Central Africa mission, now under the command of Joalland and Meynier, continued on to Zinder, where the Sultan was killed and replaced by a more docile younger brother. It then reached and skirted Lake Chad to connect with the Lamy and Gentil missions. Together, they defeated Rabah, the Sultan of Bornu, who had inflicted heavy losses on French troops.

This violent episode in the French colonial conquest took place in the context of the rivalry between European powers in the scramble for the African interior after the Berlin Conference of 1885. In this case, the rivalry with England over the demarcation of zones of influence between the territories that would become Niger and Nigeria, respectively.

The Nigerien People's Perspective

Even in Niger, the story was told from the French perspective, obscuring the suffering and devastation endured by the commuities unfortunate enough to be in the path of the column. The story of these colonial crimes remained largely buried in the people's memory. There was, however, the book “Sarraounia” by Abdoulaye Mamani (from which Med Hondo adapted a film that received the Étalon de Yennenga at FESPACO in 1987), which recounts in a highly fictionalized manner the resistance of Sarraounia (queen, in Hausa) Mangou de Lougou to the Voulet-Chanoine column (“one of the fiercest actions of the campaign,” according to Joalland).

Rob Lemkin's film "African Apocalypse," which follows the route of the column, served as a catalyst for the mobilization of local Nigerien communities, culminating in a complaint to the UN.

The approach taken by representatives of local communities in Niger (including those of Lougou, Dioundiou, and Birni'n Konni) to the UN for recognition and reparations for the crimes committed by the Central Africa Mission (Voulet-Chanoine column) in Niger opens a new chapter in this story.

The Consequences of the Complaint

The complaint resulted in a UN communication to the Nigerien and French governments regarding the alleged lack of effective remedies and reparations for the victims of serious human rights violations committed during the “Central Africa Mission,” as well as for their descendants. The responses from both governments were published. The Nigerien government acknowledges that the State of Niger has done nothing in terms of historical remembrance. The French government offers no acknowledgment or apology, only a tentative “openness to bilateral dialogue.” The documents (communications and responses) can be found here:

Role of Tarbiyya Tatali Associations

AECIN and RAEDD have been supporting the Lougou community for many years, particularly regarding its access to water. Aware of the traumas linked to colonization and eager to work towards establishing genuine friendship, our interventions have always been in response to the requests of Saraouniya and the village.

Tarbiyya Tatali has also co-published the book Lougou and Saraouniya with L'Harmattan and regularly posts articles on its website dedicated to local cultural specificities (Tunguma, Tarkama in particular) using videos and photos.

It was through the book Lougou and Saraouniya that we met Rob Lemkin, who wanted to make contacts in Niger, and it was quite natural that the Lougou community then joined the demands for reparations.

Tarbiyya Tatali's goal is to:

Raise awareness of the crimes that accompanied colonization in Niger, far removed from the “civilizing mission” it has claimed to be;
Support local communities in Niger, heirs to a colonized people, in their demands for justice, and in particular the Lougou community;
More generally, contribute to rebuilding international solidarity free from colonialism and neocolonialism, based on a clear recognition of historical responsibilities.

Each of our associations has specific responsibilities: AECIN promotes the approach of the Nigerien communities in France, RAEDD continues to support the village of Lougou, and CulturePlus organizes screenings and discussions of the film African Apocalypse in Lougou and more generally in Niger.

Water Access 2025-2026 in the Dogondoutchi Department

Marie-Françoise — 2025-07-23T18:42:21Z

Monitoring and Sustainability of Water Equipment

This initiative began in January 2025 as one of the components of the monitoring and sustainability program in 70 villages in the Dogondoutchi Department.

As of June 2025, more than forty villages had already been visited by the RAEDD's project and sustainability officer. The condition of the water equipment is satisfactory in most cases. Monitoring missions sometimes provide an opportunity to identify areas for improvement. In Goriba, for example, a slight leak in the reservoir was observed, and the women responsible for selling water have no shelter at the two standpipes. Measures have been taken to rectify this. Sometimes, as in Bare Bari, the outer areas of the wells should be kept clean, given the presence of animals who come to drink. Elsewhere, the rehabilitated equipment is no longer needed. In Bawada-Dagi and Chanono, the PMH (human mobility pump) is no longer used because these villages have been equipped with a water tower with standpipes. Residents now benefit from public tap water!

Support by the Rennes Basin Water Authority and the Nigerien government

The objective of the project is to support the municipalities of Dankassari and Dogondoutchi in modernizing their water facilities. This project has three components:

a training component: training repairers to repair stand-alone water points (PEA) and mini-drinking water systems (mini-AEP),
a hydraulic system electrification component: installation of solar panels for a mini-drinking water system in Dankassari and rehabilitation of a solar field supplying a pastoral pumping system in Farin Guémé, near Dogondoutchi,
a monitoring component: funding of missions to monitor the hydraulic systems installed by the Tarbiyya Tatali collective in the communes of the Dogondoutchi department.

It was approved by the CEBR in June 2025 and is co-financed 60% by the Nigerien government, thanks to a Swiss project, 30% by the CEBR, and 10% by the AECIN. This is the first grant requested by AECIN to be approved by a French local authority since the July 2023 coup. All grants received by AECIN between summer 2023 and January 2025 corresponded to projects approved before the coup.

The monitoring initiated in early 2025 by AECIN and RAEDD can therefore be strengthened and implemented in all the localities where Tarbiyya Tatali has worked to improve water access, in over 100 villages. This will provide us with a complete inventory, particularly regarding the facilities that have been converted into mini-water supply systems following the interventions of other partners. This monitoring was originally planned to be carried out by motorcycle, but the ban on motorcycle travel for security reasons will require changes to the system.

Monitoring in 70 villages in the Dogondoutchi department

Marie-Françoise — 2025-07-23T15:23:27Z

The implementation of the “Monitoring in 70 villages in the Dogondoutchi department” action from January 2025 follows the cessation of almost all subsidies from France, the termination of the Cesson-Dankassari decentralized cooperation and the dissolution of the AESCD. However, membership fees and donations allow AECIN to send some financial resources to Niger.

Under these conditions, it has become impossible to create new grain banks, new nurseries, teach literacy skills to new women's groups, allow new villages to benefit from the microcredit system, provide new goat kits, create new mini drinking water systems, convert hand pumps into self-sufficient water points, or equip new health facilities with sanitation or solar energy.

However, through regular monitoring, we will be able to ensure the satisfactory and sustainable operation of fourteen grain banks and four nurseries, the regular repayment of microcredit in thirteen villages, organize the regular renewal of one hundred and thirty goat kits, ensure the proper maintenance of dozens of equipped or rehabilitated water points, and monitor the quality of latrine and solar equipment maintenance in more than twenty health facilities.

Identification of villages

Given that the same villages have often benefited from multiple projects, RAEDD and AECIN have identified seventy villages for monitoring. The vast majority of these are located in the rural commune of Dankassari, thanks to the achievements of the Cesson-Dankassari decentralized cooperation. The monitoring, financed with AECIN's own funds, is carried out through field visits by the RAEDD's monitoring and sustainability manager, who prepares a monthly report. The goal is to visit each of the seventy villages at least once a year. Part of the monitoring can be done by telephone or by tapping into the RAEDD's network of contacts.

To identify actions to follow and optimize travel, we rely on our geographic information system.

First half of 2025

The monitoring system is functioning satisfactorily; the monthly report is shared and discussed between AECIN and RAEDD. More than forty villages have been visited: twenty-five villages in the commune of Dankassari, seven in the commune of Matankari, seven in the commune of Dogondoutchi, and one each in the Dogon Kiria, Kieche, and Soucoucoutane communes.

The overall assessment is very satisfactory; the facilities installed are well maintained by the local population. There are some areas where adjustments need to be made.

For example, in twelve of the thirteen villages where microcredit operates, women's groups were able to repay the amounts granted, allowing for the granting of new microcredits. Only in Chanono was repayment not possible due to poor harvests, and the women requested an extension to repay the amount, which was approved by the RAEDD.

Additional details are provided section by section in the following articles:

for access to water: Water Access 2025-2026 in the Dogondoutchi Department
for sanitation
for energy
for food security and the environment: grain banks, nurseries, assisted natural regeneration
for education: school gardens, passing the BEPC exam
for women's empowerment: microcredit and goat kits
for family planning

Digital tablets for family planning awareness

Marie-Françoise — 2025-01-05T15:08:33Z

Six people, the four facilitators and the two mission managers of RAEDD and RAIL were equipped with digital tablets and trained in their use by members of CulturePlus at the end of 2024.

During the training, each person received a kit consisting of a professional Samsung tablet accompanied by protective accessories (a shockproof case and a pouch), a USB key, a USB adapter, and a radio. In each tablet, the eight short videos Akwai Magana (season 1) ! Let's talk about it ! and Akwai Magana ! Let's talk about it ! (season 2). were installed, as well as Lougu finally has water/Ruwa falala Lugu and Trio of girls in Dankassari. In addition, the pages and the brochure My health and rights as a teenager, what I need to know in French and Hausa were installed on the tablets. After two days of training, provided by the CulturePlus association, the use of the material was well mastered. This new tool is proving to be valuable during the facilitators' visits to the villages.

Now the screenings can take place during the events for which the four facilitators travel by motorbike, in the villages of the four rural communes of Dankassari, Dogondoutchi, Matankari and Dogonkiria, with a total population of around 300,000 inhabitants. Previously, the screenings that were organized required a vehicle, a projector and a small generator. The cost of these screenings made it impossible to do them very regularly.

A supervision mission to see how the events are going was organized. Here is the report we received : "On November 25, 2024, we went to the commune of Dankassari, in Goubey, where the women were grouped together at the CSI with the participation of the staff and trainees from the national health school who came for their annual internship. The meeting was very rich in interventions where the trainees had the opportunity to participate. We saw an audience of women and men and even children, very interested in the videos or comments and other interventions were rich in lessons. In conclusion, the tablet operation is a total success, because it was very well received by the communities.

Exhibition « Women and water in West Africa »

Chantal — 2024-12-21T18:35:09Z

In West Africa, both in urban and rural areas, women are entirely responsible for water for the daily life of the family : drinking, cooking, washing and doing laundry. For millions of women or young girls, water isn't available in the house or within the compound. They must walk several hundred meters or sometimes a few kilometers, with a container that, once filled, is most often carried on their heads. Despite these heavy burdens, water fountains, drillings, wells and ponds become places of life and socialization, mutual help and joyful exchanges.

In Côte d'Ivoire

The first part of the exhibition comes from fieldwork conducted in the summer of 2024 in Côte d'Ivoire as part of a sociology thesis. Gagnoa, located in central-west Côte d'Ivoire, is experiencing rapid urbanization, marked by the emergence of new neighborhoods. This is the case in the “Sans Lois” (« Lawless") neighborhood, where, with the exception of electricity, residents have no access to other basic services, including water. The photos show a setup with a borehole connected to a tap, providing free water. Water here is also used to produce beverages and sell them. In the village of Demidougou, about ten kilometers from Gagnoa, you have to go to a well to get water.

In Niger

The second part of the exhibition is based on the work of two professional photographers in Niger and France, illustrating the activities carried out by the Tarbiyya Tatali collective, of which AECIN is a member. In Dogondoutchi, in a peripheral neighborhood or the village of Lougou, standpipes are managed by women, and water is not free. Ponds are often used for laundry. Access to water therefore remains a priority in rural areas. Loire-Brittany Water Agency and the Water Authority of the Rennes Basin' support for water access initiatives in Niger came to an end following the coup d'état in July 2023.

The exhibition's presentation

The exhibition was created for the Village of Sciences and displayed at the Champs Libres in Rennes from October 4 to 6, 2024. On Friday 4^th, nine groups of schoolchildren visited the exhibition, while Saturday 5^th and Sunday 6^th, were dedicated to the general public.

It is being presented again at the Long Prés Socio-Cultural Centre from March 23 to April 3, 2026 on the occasion of World Water Day as part of an initiative of AECIN, CEBR and the Gorom Rennes Gorom association.

Interdisciplinary project supported by the Brittany Doctoral College and developed by the Equality Mission of the University of Rennes and the Ille-et-Vilaine Niger Cultural Exchange Association (AECIN).

Photo Descriptions :
In Côte d'Ivoire: Gagnoa Borehole and tap (1-3), water carrying (4), water sale (5), Demidougou Well (6). Photos by Abdul-Aziz Dembélé.
In Niger: Dogondoutchi standpipe (7-9), Lougou standpipe (10-11), laundry at the pond (12). Photos by Abdoul Aziz Soumaïla and Jean-Pierre Estournet.

Cultural activities in Dosso

Chantal — 2024-12-21T18:27:51Z

The Culture Plus Niger association conducts numerous cultural activities in Dosso.

Various initiatives

Creation and animation of two film clubs in Dosso. With the closure of movie theaters, it became necessary to create alternative spaces to bring cinema to the public. This project, launched in 2017, was supported by the French Embassy in Niger.
Youth training in film clubs animation in Dosso, entirely self-funded activity without external support (2017).
Co-organization of Festimaj, a cinema festival held in over 30 countries around the world. Making it the world's largest festival considering the number of countries where it is organized simultaneously. CulturePlus participated in 2017, 2018 and 2022.
Training of 50 women in female entrepreneurship in Dosso. This activity was realized in partnership with the Festival Paroles de femmes and with financial support from UEMOA (2019).
Muryar Mata (workshop and festival, exhibition follow-up). The project is supported by the French Institute under its ACCES CULTURE program, and carried out in partnership with AECIN (2020-2021)
Cinébiiga (children's film-making training) in Ouagadougou. This initiative, supported by UNICEF, resulted in about ten films made by children being selected for the latest edition of FESPACO.
Co-organization of the Cinema week festival (2021).
Impala, project of film-documentary distribution, production and co-production in 12 Francophone African countries. It is a project supported by AFD, involving 14 partner associations, including two French organizations (Docmonde and Les Ateliers Varan). In Niger, Culture Plus implements the project. Implementation period 2021-2024.
Baby Show: every year, an artistic and cultural competition is organized for primary and preschool students in Dosso, celebrated with a major event called the Baby Show. (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024)
The Integration day: Dosso is a cosmopolitan city with rich cultural diversity, as it hosts a significant community from West African countries. To celebrate this diversity and promote integration, the first edition of Integration Day, initiated by Culture Plus Niger, took place in partnership with the Municipality of Dosso, with the hope of making it a lasting cultural exchange. (2022). The second edition took place in 2024.
Training in cinema professions: In partnership with the National Center for Cinematography of Niger and the Regional Directorate of Culture of Dosso, Culture Plus organized a training in 2024 for young people in cinema professions. This activity was carried out voluntarily by the Culture Plus team. Twelve young, both girls and boys, benefited from this training, and certificates were issued at the end.
Training in painting
In 2025, the CulturePlus Association, in partnership with the Graba Loga Cultural Center, initiated a training workshop for young painters in Dosso. This two-day training session was led by painter Ali Narey, who came from Niamey for the occasion. The objective of this training was to strengthen the skills of these young talents in the process of artistic creation.

Annour Cultural Space

The CulturePlus association was able to open a cultural space, the Annour Cultural Space, for the benefits of the youth of the city of Dosso, within the premises of the Garba Loga Cultural Center. The work was financed with CulturePlus's own resources, with the support of AECIN. The Annour Space is a setting dedicated to leisure time, as well as initiation and training in arts and cultural professions.

Age of mothers at the birth of their first child

2024-06-10T10:04:24Z

An AESCD-funded study on the age of mothers at the birth of their first child in the rural commune of Dankassari, supported by the MEAE (Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs), was conducted by a consultant, with assistance from the RAIL (Network for Support to Local Initiatives) coordinator, a team of investigators, and a supervisor mobilized locally.

Study Results

This study analyzed civil registry data from 2021 and 2022, revealing that:

61% of women have their first child between the ages of 19 and 25.
28% of women have their first child before their 18^th birthday.
Women with higher education have their first child much later than other categories, though they are very few.
Women with primary education have their first child earlier than those who have never attended school.

A deeper investigation is needed to understand the reasons for this situation.

The vast majority of mothers in the study (99%) are housewives. Some engage in informal income-generating activities, such as small-scale farming or petty trading, but the exact proportion is unknown.
The study also examined the age difference between mothers and fathers, the difference in the number of children between mothers and fathers due to polygamy, and the proportion of home births, which is higher than the national average.

Recommendations

Based on the study's findings, the key recommendations are:

Conduct awareness campaigns for parents about child marriage and the health consequences of early marriages and births, taking into account the profession, education level, and specific geographical areas of the commune.
Encourage parents to educate their children, especially girls, and keep them in school. Education is a proven method to combat early marriage and childbirth. School attendance reduces the likelihood of girls marrying and becoming mothers at a young age and experiencing domestic violence. But above all, school also provides economic opportunities and therefore promotes independence for girls.
Promote empowerment actions for young girls through career training initiatives and the implementation of small activities adapted to the local context.

These actions should target specific geographical areas in the rural commune particularly affected by early childbirths.

Management training for women

2024-06-07T09:31:05Z

Training in Dankassari

In June 2023, the RAEDD organized a 4-day management training in Dankassari, funded by AESCD through the MEAE (Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs), targeting 119 women beneficiaries of microcredit from the 10 villages in the Dankassari commune.

The objective of the training was to help women master the mechanisms for creating income-generating activities so that they could initiate, strengthen, and/or diversify their individual and collective income-generating activities and derive sustainable benefits from them.
A participatory approach was used to introduce and develop the topics, facilitating understanding among the four groups of 30 participants each. Theory was combined with practical case studies to ensure that participants fully assimilated the key points in the implementation process of income-generating activities.
The training was conducted by the Dogondoutchi departmental service of the Ministry of Women's Promotion and Child Protection.

Microcredit Report

The training session also aimed to conduct a survey on microcredit beneficiaries at the request of the city of Cesson-Sévigné, and each participant filled out a form. It appears that their incomes, initially very low (on average €486 per year), increased by over 26% following the allocation of microcredit. The average age of these women is 45 years old, ranging from 25 to 75 years old. On average, they have just over 6 children. All the women were literate and only 16 out of 119 had gone to school. They are mostly married, but 21 are widowed and 4 are divorced. Among the married women, 46 are the only wife (average age 35 years), and 48 have at least one co-wife (average age 50 years). This corresponds to the average situation in Niger, where it is estimated that only 50% of married women are the only wife. Obtaining microcredit has allowed most of them (78 women) to diversify their activities, particularly through livestock farming, while continuing their previous activities such as making cakes or others. Others (32 women) are improving the conditions of their previous activities (trade, livestock) thanks to microcredit. Only a few women (9 women) were without activities or practiced only rainfed agriculture and have started livestock farming or small businesses. Microcredits are often allocated multiple times to the same women's groups during repayments. It can be estimated that since 2017, the microcredits awarded (1,306) have benefited around 450 different women.

Cultural Activities in Niger

2024-06-07T09:19:54Z

The CulturePlus Association, which is the cultural branch of Nouvel Espoir, organizes numerous cultural events.

Film Screenings and Cultural Days

Screening films in Niger, whether our own productions or other African documentaries, is an essential cultural activity. Since there are no infrastructures in the villages for film screenings, we have to bring our own projection equipment.

In Dosso

Since January 2022, the CulturePlus Association has organized several other screenings of French-speaking African documentary films focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals in Dosso's schools, as part of the Impala project supported by the French Development Agency (AFD).

In Bagagi

A screening evening was organized in 2022 by CulturePlus to introduce the population to season 1 of “Akwai Magana/On va en parler,” which was filmed in the village. Hundreds of people gathered for an unforgettable evening.

In Lougou

In 2023, at the request of the Mayor of Dankassari, AESCD contributed by covering a trip to Lougou for 100 middle school students from the villages of the Dankassari commune. They spent a night there and attended a film screening organized by CulturePlus on May 12. The short film “Tarkama,” documenting the recent funeral of Saraouniya Aljunna, and the “Akwai Magana/On va en parler,” a series of short educational films about the rights of women and girls, were screened. In total, more than three hundred people participated in this activity.

In Fabirdji

On June 17, 2023, the CulturePlus Association participated in organizing the Day of the African Child, funded by the NGO World Vision. Several activities were organized by the children of the rural commune of Fabirdji, including skits, choreography, decoration workshops, and a Q&A session. All these activities were supervised by CulturePlus. A film screening was held the previous evening in the courtyard of the Fabirdji town hall.

Annour Cultural Space Project

The CulturePlus Association is working on setting up a cultural space, the Annour Cultural Space, within the Garba Loga House of Culture in Dosso. The construction is financed entirely by CulturePlus's resources, without any external support so far. The work is progressing well, and the inauguration of this center is planned for December 2023.