They carefully plan their farming season around the weather. The rest of the year is hot and sunny.
The only power we have here is solar power, so everyone relies on the strong sunshine to charge phones, devices, power medical equipment and gardening infrastructure. The strong and reliable sun helps a lot! It also powers the clean water system we have running through a portion of our town.
Because the land is dry and doesn't receive rainfall year-round, people have to gather their own water to grow crops. This is a physically difficult task. Sandstorms and unseasonal rains (infrequently) can devastate crops and set farmers back.
The humidity can be oppressive at times of the year. This makes it difficult to work and study as the body is being taxed. The different seasons also bring different sicknesses that many people here will experience at least once, if not a few times, in their lifetime. These sicknesses are very serious and can cause lifelong health issues and death.
As the soil is not nutrient-rich here, vegetables and fruits grown in this area are not as healthy as foods grown elsewhere in the world, so most people are lacking in micro and macro nutrients, leading to further health issues.
As far as cooking food, coal, gas, propane and modern electric forms of heating are not available here. Folks typically cut down trees and bring wood in from outside of town to start fires in their kitchens and in their compounds for cooking meals. This has contributed to a huge loss of trees in the Sahel region, which is a huge problem for soil fertility and increasing challenges presented by global warming and climate change.
