With ousmane and manou

ousmane
Originally uploaded by parisdelhi

This is Ousmane. Ousmane, Manou, and the herd owner that they work for are Fulani from Nigeria. They have walked to Togo with their cattle in search of good forage for the herd. Ousmane and manou each recieve one cow for every five months that they work for the herd owner. The herd owner himself obtained his own herd by working for another herd owner for 9 years. The herd owner's family is in Nigeria where they will wait for his return when the rains and fresh vegetation arrive in June, July and August. Since he does not have boys old enough to herd with him he is forced to hire other young Fulani, in this case ousmane and manou, to help him. Majirou and I spent two nights and one full day in the bush with ousmane and manou. We had a great time and since they will be our the area for a few months we will surely spend more time with them, god willing.
See more photos of our time with ousmane and manou:
http://flickr.com/photos/thompsoncw/sets/72157603729921135/