The first part of this story takes place in Michel’s courtyard in Villy, near Koudougou in Burkina Faso. On three consecutive mornings I photographed him and his family in the process of building a granary out of mud bricks in order to store the millet that had just been harvested.

”He frequently asks me if I think he’s doing a good job. I think, in fact, he wants to know what I think of the construction methods, if I don’t find them backwards, things like that. But his French is too limited to have a real exchange.” *

Still at Villy, I photograph another Michel who is making a woven granary.

”I heard by radio that for the past two or three years during the time of the heavy rains in August/September granaries are destroyed, especially in Burkina Faso, with a resulting loss of the harvest. Rather than shoot a series of ruined granaries, it seemed to me more pertinent to take time to photograph their construction.” *

I should say as well as the destruction caused by torrential rains, numerous studies have shown that stocks are reduced (up to about 30%) by attacks from birds, rodents, mushrooms...; which is to say that good methods of conserving food stocks are essential for reducing poverty.

* taken from the diary I kept during my eight-month journey by bicycle in West Africa.

The first part of this story takes place in Michel’s courtyard in Villy, near Koudougou in Burkina Faso. On three consecutive mornings I photographed him and his family in the process of building a granary out of mud bricks in order to store the millet that had just been harvested.

”He frequently asks me if I think he’s doing a good job. I think, in fact, he wants to know what I think of the construction methods, if I don’t find them backwards, things like that. But his French is too limited to have a real exchange.” *

Still at Villy, I photograph another Michel who is making a woven granary.

”I heard by radio that for the past two or three years during the time of the heavy rains in August/September granaries are destroyed, especially in Burkina Faso, with a resulting loss of the harvest. Rather than shoot a series of ruined granaries, it seemed to me more pertinent to take time to photograph their construction.” *

I should say as well as the destruction caused by torrential rains, numerous studies have shown that stocks are reduced (up to about 30%) by attacks from birds, rodents, mushrooms...; which is to say that good methods of conserving food stocks are essential for reducing poverty.