Kongoussi

Kongoussi has deep roots in Mossi history and social relations - certain small Mossi chiefdoms were located in this area (for example at Sabce), although not based in the town itself. Kongoussi benefits from a lakeside location, which is rare in the African Sahel. It therefore received attention from French administrators and before that from the Catholic Church. France had little real impact on the local population but did establish an outpost, promoted cotton production, and built roads. The lake, Lac du Bam is part of the upper reaches of the southward-flowing Volta system, and its presence permits year-round lakeshore cultivation in an otherwise arid climate. Townspeople have irrigated plots close to the lake shore, but the presence of standing water means the malaria risk is high. Aside from tropical fruits, green beans are produced here, usually supplying the winter market in Paris when flights form Ouagadougou permit this.