A Claim to Land by the River

Twenty years ago, Jaabe So founded an independent farmers' association among the Soninke towns in Senegal. Since then, much of Adrian Adams's and So's lives have been spent in struggling to defend the existence of that association against a state development corporation funded by development aid. This is a narrative of that struggle and of three centuries of Senegalese history. This extraordinary book, much of which was written first in an African language, will be invaluable reference for those who believe that Africans may yet redeem a future free from the false promises of development by drawing on an inherited past.