1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Tuareg men plant grass in the banks of the Niger River to grow a forage crop for their animals and for sale in the markets in the sedentary Tuareg village of Dag Allal in Mali on 11 September 2009. This group is very unusual amongst Tuareg for their sedentary, non-nomadic existence. These traditional nomadic people now remain in place all year round and care for their animals by utilizing agricultural techniques. Global warming, Uranium mining exploration and armed rebellion have destroyed most of their traditional nomadic grazing so to survive these Tuaregs now grow rice and forage grass in the nearby Niger river, using a canal and small pump to divert water into ricepaddies. Their leader, El Hadg Agali Ag Mohammoud, 70, explains that reasons of drought, rebellion, identity issues and a lack of union amongst the Tuareg caused this group to choose to remain in one place, "We live here all year, we take care of our animals by growing the grass that they wouldn't normally have in the hot summer months, other Tuareg don't always understand this, they think that this grass grows naturally. We sometimes have to prevent them taking it, we have to explain that we grow it for our animals and it is not free. Sometimes there is a confrontation as a result, this is not the traditional Tuareg way so we have to explain it to them. I think in the future there will be more Tuareg living this way.