Pourquoi Gouina ? Pour ses chutes, leur beauté et l'image qu'elles donnent du Mali, pour la ruralité et l'échange qui peut en résulter entre nos différentes cultures, parce que nord ou sud nous faisons face aux mêmes enjeux, pour les hippopotames, pour, pour le grand potentiel du lieu et sa tranquillité et parce qu'il n'y a pas de moustiques.

Le choix d'implantation pour le projet de centre socioculturel s'est aussitôt porté sur les trois bâtiments assez proches des chutes sans y porter non plus préjudice, fortement dégradés mais ayant le mérite d'être déjà existants. Nous voulons les rénover pour les orienter sur 3 domaines: écologique, professionnel et socioculturel.

The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. The Dogon are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. The past century has seen significant changes in the social organization, material culture and beliefs of the Dogon, partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions.

The principal Dogon area is bisected by the Bandiagara Escarpment, a sandstone cliff of up to 500m high, stretching about 150 km. To the southeast of the cliff, the sandy Séno-Gondo Plains are found, and northwest of the cliff are the Bandiagara Highlands. Historically, Dogon villages were established in the Bandiagara area in consequence of the Dogon people's collective refusal to convert to Islam a thousand years ago. Dogon insecurity in the face of these historical pressures caused them to locate their villages in defensible positions along the walls of the escarpment. The other factor influencing their choice of settlement location is water. The Niger River is nearby and in the sandstone rock, a rivulet runs at the foot of the cliff at the lowest point of the area during the wet season.