Sahel, Burkina Faso

This scene is an original illustration set in Sahel, Burkina Faso. It lies in the tropics, where the climate is hot semi-arid steppe.

A cluster of small cylindrical mud granaries stands in a compound, each wearing a pointed thatch cap like a hat. One enormous bare-branched baobab rises beside them. Low mud-brick walls enclose swept bare ground, and the light is harsh and vertical.

Why does a granary have a removable thatch cap?

The thatch cap is removable — it keeps rain off the grain and lifts away for filling and emptying. Raised cylindrical granaries store a harvest through a long dry season, which is only necessary where the rain arrives in one short block. The baobab stores water in its trunk for the same reason. Bare branches place the moment in the dry months.

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