BWARI POTTERY VILLAGE

The potters' village of Bwari is located a little outside the town of the same name, and is made up of several single-storey banco structures, painted white and with straw roofs, which effectively give the whole complex the look of a small country hamlet.

The community of potters who have lived here for over twenty years are in fact originally from Kano, and source their clay from the road to Kaduna, where it is said to have unrivalled properties. The material is worked with water in baths, where it is mixed with another type of clay. The water is then left for a week to evaporate from the baths, to obtain a sufficiently consistent substance, which they leave to dry as a large peat clinging to the walls of the workshop. When it finally reaches the consistency of modelling clay, it's ready to be worked by the potter, who puts his money where his mouth is in a masterly demonstration of the foot-operated mill and his expert hands. It then dries for a short day, before being fired in a special kiln. Finally, the pot is painted, in various baths of indigo, white or black, before a second firing. If you stay long enough, you can ask to mold an object yourself. All are on sale at very modest prices, and - a rarity - are labelled! Vases, jars, photophores, ashtrays, crockery, flowerpots... all adorned with chiselled decorations and bathed in bluish-white gradations: superb!