Fachi

Fachi is an oasis surrounded by the Ténéré dessert and the dunes of the Erg of Bilma in eastern Niger, placed on the western edge of the small Agram mountain outcropping. It has an estimated population of some 2000 people. A stopping point of the Agadez to Kaouar caravans of the Azalay, Fachi is 150 miles west of Bilma and 200 miles east of the Aïr Mountains. Apart from water, dates, and salt, Fachi produces no provisions, and depends entirely upon trade in these products with passing caravans.

Frequently raided by Tuareg and other bedouins in its past, the town is built within high fortifications, known locally as a "ksar", built from "banco" salt blocks. It is now disused.

Fachis population is largely drawn from the Kanuri and Toubou peoples, in whose language the town is called "Agram". "Fachi", its official name, is from Tuareg and Hausa peoples who at one time lived here in larger numbers.

References

*Samuel Decalo. Historical Dictionary of Niger. Scarecrow Press, London and New Jersey (1979). ISBN 0810812290
* Jolijn Geels. Niger. Bradt London and Globe Pequot New York (2006). ISBN 1841621528.