Here a beneficiary of Alidé, who went to wear a t-shirt just for the picture. She proudly pauses in front of her stall:
The visit also took me on the Ayimlonfidé Island, on lake Nokoué (a large lake connected to the ocean, right in the middle of Cotonou). This island is home to the Xwla tribe, which came from Northern Benin some centuries back to find refuge on this retreat so as to escape slavery.
As the architecture of the shelters suggests, the island is regualry flooded during rainy season, making inhabitants live over water 24/7.
The main activity of the tribe is obviously fishing. Men go and fetch livestocks while women buy back the catches and either sell the fish to the market or process the stocks, like this oysters brochette fried in palm-oil with spices... Believe me that tastes great!
Here is a portrait of one of the inhabitant of Ayimlonfidé Island:
French speakers will appreciate the synhax...
Petrol tends to be a bit expensive in Benin and an almost institutionalized traffic of fuel happens between Benin and the neighbouring country of Niger, where fuel cost is far less. Taxis linking Cotonou and Niamey have huge tanks they fill in Niger and back in Benin they sell most of its content to fuel resellers who in turn expose their stock along the streets for drivers to fill their tank at a cheaper cost than regular petrol stations...
Here is a family picture of the Beninese team with my Ghanaian team & I in the Agbodjedo branch office:
