Caravanes du Sahara

Abstract

In all the sub-Saharan countries, remains an important caravan traffic. Sub-regional atfirst, which takes care of the products that the breeders and the farmers exchange between them, but also international, between the Sahel — to the Mediterranean countries for animals on foot. As for half a century trucks insure the biggest part of the saharian exchanges, abandoning in the caravans only goods to the narrow markets. The caravans of cattle, exported on foot, remain the only means to sell in a lucrative way animals. Indeed dromedaries are too voluminous to be profitable transported in vehicle ; but on the other hand, its can cross the desert areas when they are escorted as it is advisable. It is partially for it that the caravans of camels of butcher's continue, from States as Chad, tofeed regularly the markets of the Libyan South. The breeders camel drivers who organize these expeditions find in North Africa the only means to sell the products of their breedings, the meat of dromedary being only little consumed in their country. These caravans of animals update exchanges which have never stopped since the highest antiquity, because they follow tracks crossed since millenniums. This shape of business mixes, with profit, traditional fashions of routing and very current forms to trade. While at first it is about initiatives appropriate for the pastoral communities of the desert borders of the States of Central Sahel, while they organize with tiny means, the capitalization and the acquired profits pas s in transit in fine, by effective banking networks and short-term reinvestments, sensibly taking advantage différences in price of diverse goods existing between several states, to trade in a very profitable way.