Winter House

Nomads used to camp all year long, but about 50 years ago, they began to build makeshift houses to help them pass the winter more comfortably. These usually had mud walls and thatch roofs and gradually grew into wood and stone or brick houses. The winter dwellings are spread around Ritoma land in hamlets regrouped by clan and animals graze on what is left of the pasture and eat the oats grown nearby. In winter, the animals are brought to these houses.

Jampa is a Manager at Norlha. His family house is the furthest from Ritoma’s main village and as a child, he had to stay with an aunt who lived closer to school. His parents live there, helping his brother and his wife manage their herd. On weekends, the family’s children all regroup there and play on the pasture. In Spring, it is bare, but full of young animals.