Travel Guide Benawayo

In the village of Benawayo, most men - and women - are diamond researchers. To get there, start by taking left at the Barrière gate, towards Sosso (the right lane goes to Gamboula). Come to Benawayo, 22 km further, ask to speak to the chef. Thus, accompanied by a guide, you can take a short and interesting hike through the tobacco plantations, through between several camps where cassava dries, to the diamond site of Ngoubéké, located 2 km away. Here the boxes present a frame and a bamboo roof, unlike Bouar, where they consist of bricks and straw. After a quarter of a minute's walk, you can reach Ngabata (diamond researcher). A very informative hike, which allows us to have an overview of this slave labour: all day, men stand to decide by pelle the heart of a red and compact land, usually from 7 h to 15 h, when exhaustion does not stop them. Prospecting is carried out by team of 5 to 6 people. After digging large square holes around 5 m deep, men fill them with water. The next day, they come back to wash the gravel that was removed the previous day and meet for exciting screening. When the wood of the sieve blows sharply against the ground, each lâche its tools to answer the "call": all must participate in the verification to avoid any theft or litigation. Very binders, both the chief and the employees willingly explain their (craft) methods and speak with the smile of their livelihood, which, however, will most likely make the fortune of the collectors - most of the time of the Lebanese - and not theirs. Back to the village, a last stop is required on the market square, in the company of the chef, for the tasting of nbako, corn and cassava alcohol distilled in the same still. Excellent to get even warmer!