All images and text © Kevin Moloney

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Boatman Atraman Maika watches the channel of the river from atop a pinasse on the Niger River near Niafunke, Mali. The 2,600-mile riverway in west Africa is a major transportation artery. Hand-made pinasse boats carry goods, passengers and tourists between the remote city of Timbuktu and the cities of Bamako or Mopti, Mali.



Vendors, fishermen and boat crews move their wares across the littered beach at the port of Mopti, Mali, on the Niger River.



Unloading at Mopti.



Aboard his 50-foot tourist pinasse, pilot Abdul Timbeli, rear, cook Aisha Tanapo, left, and mate Atraman Maika work on the Niger River, between Mopti and Timbuktu. The family team (Aisha is Timbeli's wife and Atraman his brother) rotates jobs through the 12-hour travel days between the cities.



Fish heads dry in the sun atop the roof of Timbeli's pinasse. Meals of fish bought from passing fishermen and rice or noodles feed passengers on the three-day excursion.



As the sun drops , boatman Atraman Maika watches the channel of the river from the bow of a pinasse as his pilot brother Abdul Timbeli guides the craft through shallow, shifting channels.


All images and text © Kevin Moloney

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