Musée de l'eau
A Sanctuary of Indigenous Water Knowledge in Burkina Faso
As a living museum, Musée de l’eau is home to artifacts and items of water history that have been a part of the daily life of West African peoples for centuries. Located a few miles outside Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the museum is a space of collective memory.
Messages and symbols of water, through proverbs, tales, myths, songs, and poetry, dot the grounds, creating a channel of thoughtful communication with people of all ages.
The museum features a permanent collection of pots, diving sticks, calabashes, and animal skin water canteens which form tangible connections between water, human life, and all living beings in nature. Visitors are invited to interact with these items through workshops and demonstrations with the staff.
Disseminating knowledge endogenous to the region is the primary driving force for the museum. One of the original features is the 5km Walk—a representation of the long distances people (mostly women) walk to fetch water in pots.
Beyond the permanent collections and temporary exhibits, the staff at Musée de l’eau are also educators who teach young children about their ancestral knowledge, history, and future of water in the region. The school on the museum site invites teachers to bring their students to the museum for workshops, activities, and a day of learning through art and science.
Musée de l’eau is also engaging with the Living Waters Museum (India) to develop an interactive, student-centered, and inquiry-based pedagogy for multidisciplinary learning for greater knowledge of the different aspects related to water resources. This pedagogy would allow learners (especially those aged 11 to 15, but also younger and older) to engage with the waters around them from a holistic perspective of problematization and solution-seeking.
On July 08, 2024, the museum held a training workshop on water education for the students and teachers of Gampéla, a primary school close to Ouagadougou. This workshop was based on the theme: “Who manages my water?”
Faride Samoura is the guide and curator of Musee de l’Eau.
Musée de l’eau is a member of the Global Network of Water Museums and project AQUAMUSE.
Edited by Uttara Valluri, Curatorial and Design Researcher at the Living Waters Museum.