Toya, Mali
Toya Village: 1 Millennium Village | 5,000 residents

The Millennium Village of Toya is located about 30 km from Timbuktu, one of Africa's oldest and most famed trading and cultural outposts. Both sedentary and nomadic populations comprise the village of Toya, which is populated with just over 5,000 inhabitants.

The area is characterized by very low and highly unpredictable rainfall patterns, with a 9 to 10-month dry season each year, coupled with frequent drought periods without rain. Temperatures frequently reach as high as 40–50 o C, making for very difficult living conditions.

The majority of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and handcrafting.

Village Characteristics by Sector

Toya is located in the Sahelian-Saharan zone and represents two major farming systems: the rainfed based system on sandy dunes and the irrigated rice-based system along the river floodplains. The main crops are rice, wheat, millet and vegetables. The major agriculture constraints faced by the villagers are low management level of plains, poor status of irrigation infrastructure and high prices of farm inputs such as fertilizer and improved seed.

Livestock keeping is an important livelihood for many families as well. Presently, the village has a total of 9,200 cattle, 2,088 sheep, 14,016 goats, 1,985 donkeys, 2,420 horses and 27 camels. The poor quality of feed for livestock and low productivity are major constraints to maximizing livestock potential.

Fishing is also practiced by families who live near the Niger River. However, the prevailing local and traditional fishing techniques impede performance.

A severe lack of teachers and classrooms are the major challenges facing the education sector. In the entire district of Alafia where Toya is located, there are only 42 teachers in charge of 1,228 enrolled students. An initial education needs assessment revealed that an additional 24 teachers are needed to provide a sound primary school education and an additional 23 classrooms should be built in 8 primary schools.

There are currently four Community Health Centers, or Centres de Sante Communautaires (CSCOM), in the district. The infrastructure is poor and maintenance is essentially non-existent; the number of skilled health personnel such as nurses, nurse assistants and pharmacy managers are lacking. The long distances required to reach the CSCOMs coupled with impassable roads—particularly during the raising season—make it very difficult for the community to access what health services do exist.

Handicraft is practiced by blacksmiths who work with leaver and iron. However, the workers are not well organized and lack materials and training.