Diébougou

Diébougou is a market town in the wooded savanna of southwestern Burkina Faso, between the Mossi plateau to the north and the Black Volta country on the border with Ghana. The Bougouriba, a tributary of the Black Volta, drains the district, and roads and paths here linked the Bobo-Dioulasso region with the gold-bearing lands of the south and the trade towns on the Ghana side.

The country is home to the Dagara, Birifor and Lobi peoples. The Lobi began moving into this part of Burkina Faso from the area of present-day Ghana around 1770, and lived in scattered fortified homesteads, farming millet and sorghum and hunting.

Pottery and basket work are among the town’s characteristic crafts, and the market connects surrounding villages to the town in everyday exchange. Near Diébougou is a swamp inhabited by crocodiles, adding a localized ecological feature to the dry country around the settlement.