Restoration of traditional plastering in Tangassogo

During the first three weeks of March 2018, more than a hundred women participated in the restoration of traditional plasters in the Allou-Sana concession in the town of Tangassogo (Tiébélé), located south of Burkina Faso. With the help of daily utensils such as a brush, a hoe, or different types of stones, and using earth and natural pigments, this technique documented since the sixteenth century, is an exceptional example of the Kasséna culture, with universal value, recognized at the Indicative List of UNESCO Heritage

Traditionally, once finished the wet season and therefore also the works of the field, the men of the town inventoried the state of the constructions and they took charge of rebuilt the structures and covers that were in bad condition. The women, when the men returned to the field at the end of the dry season, took care of the finishes: wall cladding and soil compaction.

In recent years, the bad harvests and the decrease in the number of visitors in the area - the nearby Royal Court of Tiébélé is one of the main tourist sites in the country - has caused the inhabitants of the concession to suffer great economic difficulties, which has had a direct impact on the maintenance of buildings.

The project has permitted to mobilize, in addition to the own members of the family, several groupings of women from the surrounding area, as well as the resources (financial and material) necessary to execute the work. The initiative has had as main objectives the improvement of the state of conservation of the buildings and, therefore, of the quality of life of its inhabitants, stimulate the protection of the material and intangible Kasséna cultural heritage, enhancing its knowledge and transmission, and empowering the Tangassogo women to participate fully in economic life in general, and in the construction industry in particular.

The work carried out periodically by the expert hands of the Kasséna women and their traditional "savoir-faire", converts a need that modernity neglects as it is the maintenance of our buildings, in a collective art show, made in community and solidarity between neighbouring families.

Awards

Shortlisted at FAD International Architecture Award 2019.

Winning project in the Call for Cooperation Grants 2018 of the Catalonian Association of Architects.