Village, Chad – Yann Arthus-Bertrand Photography

One of these luscious green trees, probably the one in the center, is a palaver tree in which shade the village people gather. The adults’ meetings deal with all the community’s problems, from settling a dispute to group discussions of larger problems. The paths traced on the ground are those taken every day by the inhabitants and their cattle to get to the well or collect wood. This traditional village in the former kingdom of Baguirmi, in the Chari-Baguirmi region, near the capital N’Djamena, is laid out in a circle. The round or rectangular huts have thatched or flat roofs. Each home has a pen for élevage de case—hut breeding of chickens, sheep and goats. Space is organized and structured around pastoral rather than agricultural activity. There is not enough rainfall for agriculture to develop here.