Gold panning

Since 2009, gold has been Burkina Faso’s leading export. More than thirty-five tonnes of gold were extracted from Burkina Faso’s subsoil in 2014, a record for a country that ranks among the least developed in West Africa. Today, artisanal gold mining is one of the mainstays of the country’s economy. However, this exploitation is not without consequences. It leads to social disintegration and environmental degradation. The discovery of deposits, for example, leads to mass migration to mining sites and the creation of makeshift camps. Far from towns, gold miners and their families are deprived of social and health infrastructures, and live in extreme poverty. Finally, the environment around the mines is permanently polluted by gold extraction techniques (use of mercury or cyanide). The result is an explosion in cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, allergies, infertility, etc.

The condition of women and children at artisanal mining sites also needs to be addressed. Although digging is reserved for men, women also take part in mining activities, in addition to managing family life. They are generally confined to surface work, such as sorting or crushing the rock that emerges from the galleries. UNICEF estimates that 700,000 children work in Burkina Faso’s mines. The children take part in various surface activities alongside their mothers, such as crushing the rocks prior to grinding in difficult conditions: intense heat, lack of protection, infernal work rates, etc. In addition to being exposed to serious pathologies, these children are withdrawn from the school system and consequently deprived of any prospects for the future, as they are unable to read or write.

In its fight for decent work for all, Solidar Suisse is working to remove women and children from mining sites. To improve women’s incomes and enable them to better meet the needs of their families, we provide them with income-generating activities such as market gardening, cash crops and sheep fattening. We also train young people in professional trades and entrepreneurship (carpentry, sewing, electricity, etc.).