Inside Fives

Eco-tourism mission to promote the Tata Sombas (Benin)

March 2008

Philippe Jacqueier, in charge of system startup within the Electrical Department at Cinetic Automation SA, participated in an eco-tourism mission to promote the Tata Sombas, traditional multi-storey dwellings found in northern Benin and built from mud and cow dung.

"The architectural heritage of Benin is made up of a wide variety of dwelling types, the most famous of which is the Tata Somba (mud castle or multi-storey dwelling) constructed from mud and protected by cow dung.
A limited number of touristic tours focus on villages with traditional Tata Sombas dwellings, but as yet they are not very well known and the local communities do not profit enough from the touristic activities.
Through the support given to an association for the development of eco-tourism, I helped the residents of Koussoukoingou, a village of traditional Tata Sombas dwellings, to make the most of their assets, promote their heritage in the touring circuits and ensure that the resulting profits went to the owners within these communities.

My mission was organized in cooperation with the association "La Perle de l’Atacora" (The Pearl of Atacora), which brings together Tata owners and guides: I assisted the members of the association in their administrative tasks, in particular the creation of a book of traditional tales and the promotion of the village in hotels and on the Internet.

I also took part in a certain number of hikes with the eco-guides to build on their existing training, raise their awareness with regard to safety recommendations to be given to tourists and improve routes whenever necessary. Incidentally, it was possible to immediately put this advice into practice during my stay thanks to the arrival of 6 coaches of US tourists.

Road signs have also been developed to encourage tourists to discover the local cultural heritage and promote local handicrafts.

Children represent an excellent conduit to motivate their parents and communicate certain information within the households. They are aware that it is important for the village to stay clean and to be homey. Tata owners are encouraged to dig 1m3 trash-holes, used to burn garbage to avoid it being blown away and/or strewn on around the village.

Over and above the generally harsh living conditions, without running water or electricity, I was particularly moved by the hardships faced by women: despite their arduous working days (wood and water collection, keeping a market stand, meal preparation, childcare and labor in the fields), they were highly committed to the work of the association. The women and their children were the first to grasp the benefits that they could derive from this approach".