A remote village more than 60 miles from the nearest town, Dontereke (pop. 1,310) showed itself to be a most willing community when it came to working with BwB. The only problem was that Mother Nature had other ideas. Scheduled to start in mid-September, the project did not begin until October because a swollen river blocked access to the village.

When it finally began, the project started with a bang: 285 people turned out on the first day to help dig the foundation. They averaged more than 30 people per day for the whole project, finishing with a brand-new, three-room school.

The people of Dontereke belong to the Bambara ethnic group, the largest tribe in Mali. They are subsistence farmers.

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