skip to main content

Nomads: Salt Caravans in the Niger

52 minutes 23 seconds

Videos are generally available for preview to non-members as short clips. Limited full-length titles are also available. Log In to view the full length title.

Browse Full-length Non-member Titles

Situated near an oasis in Niger's Ayar Mountains, the remote settlement of Timia is home to small-scale wheat growers. Once a year, after the harvest is done, members of the Kel Ewen clan federation-a subgroup of the Tuareg nomads-will venture into the merciless Ténéré desert to trade their wares. Almost 600 kilometers lie between the paradise-like gardens of Timia and the village of Bilma, which produces salt from evaporation ponds. Bilma is, traditionally, one of the last stops on the age-old trans-Saharan trade route, and its salt is widely recognized as a trading article for grain and all manner of goods. This program follows a camel caravan as it makes its way along the route, taking on salt in Bilma, then heading further southward to Nigeria.

Media Details

Runtime: 52 minutes 23 seconds

Request a DVD
Members Only - Apply Now
A Black woman wearing a nurse's uniform puts her arm around a Black boy, both smile at the camera.
56 minutes
Grade Level: 9 - 12
Crocodile walking into the water. Caption. Birds, insects, and reptiles.
17 minutes 52 seconds
Grade Level: 3 - 8
Image of women in colorful attire working and walking in an African village courtyard. They're surrounded by mudbrick buildings. Caption. People said that he was looking for a second wife.
The Call Of Africa
Episode 1
56 minutes 9 seconds
Grade Level: 11 - 12
3 people in red, gold, and green headbands sit on horses. Men stand in front of them on both sides. Caption. Selamawit as narrator. Red, gold, and green are the colors of the Ethiopian flag.
Africa's Child
Episode 6
19 minutes 19 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 10
Masai boy in red and white shuka looks down at an object held in his fingers. Caption. He tells us that smiling and laughing is for women, not us men.
Africa's Child
Episode 2
14 minutes 24 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Tuareg boy smiles broadly and looks slightly off camera. Caption. Another of our Tuareg customs, is wearing blue clothes.
Africa's Child
Episode 1
14 minutes 24 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
African people in bright pink kaftans and bead necklaces. Caption. New boundaries also pulled together groups.
18 minutes 13 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 10
Closeup of a wooden Kwanzaa kinara with red, green and black candles. Heap of fruits and vegetables fills background.
All About the Holidays
Episode 4
1 minutes 1 seconds
Grade Level: 4 - 8
Aerial view of mostly bare light brown land with low lying trees. Caption: Termites are extremely territorial
7 minutes 57 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Two adult birds with one chick who is flapping and demanding attention from an adult. Foliage in the background. Caption: The ibis lays its eggs here each year.
10 minutes 13 seconds
Grade Level: 1 - 6