Travelogue: Ganvie: The Floating Village Of Benin Republic On Lake Noukoue
LAGOS – Lake Nokoue is a lake in the Southern of Benin Republic and the biggest in the entire country. The natural lake is 20km wide and 11km long and covers an area of 4,900 hectares 12,000 acres).
The lake is so important to the extent that it provides varied economic activities to its inhabitants who are estimated to be about 35,000 people from Ganvie Village and fishing is one of their major professions.
The lake is projected to produce two tonnes of fish per hectare in a year.
The magical nature of the lake is that it produces two climates annually – salty and fresh water. The natural lake is salty for nine months of the year, while the remaining three months is for fresh water.
However, Lake Nokoue has only one village, which is known as Ganvie that came into existence in 1717 courtesy of a war between two Kingdoms – Ajatado and Abomey. Ganvie was founded by a tribe in Benin known as the Tofinu tribe.
Abomey was the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey from the 17th to 19th centuries and its home to 12 royal palaces from that period, but unfortunately, most of the palaces are now in ruins.
Ganvie is the largest floating village on water in the entire Africa with about 3,000 stilt houses and it’s surrounded with social amenities, religious spaces, schools, banks, restaurants, health centre, hotels, relaxation spots for the villagers in stilts woods.
Everyone living in Ganvie is a landlord without a tenant!
Ganvie also has a market known as a Floating Market where ware sellers sell their goods and various items using their canoes.
Ganvie is characterised by colourful wooden ebony stilt houses, which is resistance to weathering, while the walls are made with bamboo and palm fronds, and arranged around artificial islands, created by the villagers some centuries ago to change the scornful narration of ‘crab walkers on the land and fish in the water’ their younger ones were subjected to by other villagers residing on the land.
Historically, the entire Ganvie Village was surrounded by the lake without an island and its children were not taught the rudiment of walking at childhood, but everyone could swim at the age of five.
So, when the children in their paddled canoes go to the island villages for interaction or business activities, the other villagers take a swipe at them for walking like crabs on the land, but swim like fish in the ocean.
In a bid to change the derisive label, the elders in Ganvie Village, created an artificial island where its children were taken to and taught how to walk properly on land without forgetting the swimming artistry.
In Ganvie Village, it is forbidden for their men to sell fish after going on a fishing expedition, while the tradition allows only the female to sell the fish, but cannot embark on fishing in the lake. Some say division of labour has its root in their culture.
When our correspondent visited Benin Republic recently with other hundreds of other tourists from Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana for a road tour of the four countries for the seventh Accra Weizo West African Travel Expo, supported by Akwaaba Travel Market in collaboration with Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Ibrahim Dosu, our tour guide once again, brought to life the fond memories of Ganvie Village and its history.
Most of the buildings in Ganvie are traditional structures with wood stilts, but a few modern edifices with methods of concrete stilts and sandcrete blocks are creeping in gradually, thereby “defacing” the original village structures.
But, the unique lifestyle of the locals around the water still offers many lessons for the design of prospective floating cities.
The village, which came to being courtesy of a war between two kingdoms, has now become a global tourist attraction for the Benin Republic Government.
The village was in 1996, recognised as a world cultural heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), attracting up to 10,000 visitors annually.
The influx of tourists to the lake and the village has impacted the locals and their socio-ecological practices that sustain this water environment. Its aquaculture has become increasingly challenging to maintain as the village struggles to retain its economic foundation.
Dosu said: “These structures are built and maintained for a lifespan of 10-15 years, making them ephemeral in nature. Locals opt for materials that decompose in the water ecosystem over time and do not have a negative impact on it.
“Also, the stilt structures are designed to complement an urban plan consisting of small artificial islands as urban courtyards linking two or more houses, as well as large water streets to allow easy movement by canoe across all parts of the village.
“Lake Nokoué is only 1-2 meters deep, the community’s residents moved soil from the mainland to construct these islands. Initially, they were intended as spaces to teach young children to walk and as places for domesticating animals, but they have since become social spaces that connect families and urban features that give the floating village a unique character.”
Ganvie the Floating Village has lived for over four hundred years through its locally crafted urban systems. But the residents still face many challenges, primarily the lack of proper sewage and waste management systems.
The story of Ganvie is one in which architecture is a product of a culture that is mindful of its surroundings.
Ganvie’s floating village serves as a model not only for designing potential floating cities, but also for approaching sustainability in architecture. The village is a testament to human creativity and resilience.
Benin Royal Hotel
Another tourist site in Lome, Togo is the Benin Royal Hotel, which is ranked a 4-Star by the government of the Republic and it is the leader in the hospitality sector.
Situated in the centre of Cotonou, specifically at Lot 398, Quartier Maro Militaire – Vons face Toxi Labo. It is about 10 minutes drive from the Cardinal Bernardin Gantin International Airport and about 20 minutes drive from the land border and a walking distance to major businesses, leisure and places of attraction.
When our correspondent stepped into the Royal Hotel in Benin with other tourists and tour operators, he was greeted with a lovely customer service team that is fluent in French, English and mild Yoruba language.
Our correspondent observed that Benin Royal Hotel has a rooftop swimming pool on the fifth floor with dressing and toilet area including bathrooms and facility for Karaoke; a standard gymnasium on the 7th floor, a restaurant bar, snooker, lounge, spa centre, a culinary restaurant and a lounge bar with billiards.
Besides, the hotel has eight conference rooms, making it possible to host multiple shows at the same time.
Addressing tourists, Mr. Dine Bouraima, the Chairman of Benin Royal Hotel, spoke highly of his experience before delving into the hospitality sector.
Bouraima, who is also President, Consortium Touristes Par Millions (CTM-Benin) said the hotel was built in 2014 and was inaugurated by then President of the Republic of Benin.
He explained that the hotel was built by Italian firms with materials imported from Italy to give it that global taste.
Bouraima, who is also an Ambassador of African Tourism Board for Benin Republic, sees himself as a Nigerian with frequent trips to Nigeria and with chains of business there.
