Roofing in Niger

Niger is a largely desert and Sahelian country in which earth has always been the main roofing material. Flat roofs of earth on timber cover houses from the Hausa towns of the south to the Saharan city of Agadez, and household survey data show earth roofs still rival metal sheet as the most common roof in the country.

Climate and hazards

Niger is very hot for most of the year. Rain falls in a short summer season, mostly in the south, and can come in violent storms that erode earth roofs and walls. Sand and dust are constant, and timber for roof joists is scarce. These conditions favour thick, thermally massive earth roofs that can be renewed with local materials.

Roofing history

Agadez developed in the 15th and 16th centuries, when the Sultanate of Aïr was established, and became a major crossroads of the trans-Saharan caravan trade. Its historic centre, divided into 11 irregular quarters, preserves earthen houses and the Grand Mosque, whose 27 m (89 ft) minaret is often described as the tallest mud-brick structure in the world.

In the south, Niger shares the Hausa building tradition with northern Nigeria, in which master masons built flat roofs, arches, vaults and domes of earth over short lengths of deleb-palm timber (see Hausa earth vaults and domes). The Hikma complex in Niger is cited as a recent example of contemporary architecture drawing on Hausa forms.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Flat earth roofs: timber or palm joists covered with sticks or mats and layers of earth, drained by spouts (see Sahelian earthen roofs).
• Hausa domes and vaults: built without formwork and sealed with a traditional render.
• Straw and mat roofs: lighter roofs of straw or woven mats, recorded as a significant category in national surveys.
• Nubian vaults: since 2000 the association La Voûte Nubienne has promoted timber-free earth-brick vaults in the Sahel as an alternative to metal roofs and scarce timber.

Roofing today

A national survey on employment and the informal sector carried out by Niger's National Institute of Statistics in 2012 asked households for their main roof material. Unweighted counts in the survey sample (about 30,000 households) were:

Main roof material	Share of sampled households
Earth/mud brick	41.8%
Metal sheet	30.0%
Straw/mats	14.3%
Wood	8.3%
Cement/concrete	3.2%
Tiles	0.2%
Animal skin	0.2%

These figures are not official weighted estimates, but they indicate that earth roofs remained the single largest category, with metal sheet second and concrete still rare.

Codes, standards and regulation

At Agadez, UNESCO notes that building-permit rules exist but need consistent, educational application, and that a conservation unit for the historic centre still needed staff and resources.

Notable roofs

• Historic centre of Agadez: earth houses and the Grand Mosque with its 27 m mud-brick minaret. About 20,000 people live in the historic centre. UNESCO lists corrugated-iron roofs, breeze-block construction and cement plasters among the inappropriate alterations threatening the site.

Local roofing terms

• banco: wet earth for bricks and plaster, used across the Sahel.
• azara (Hausa): deleb-palm timber for roof joists and arches.

Sources and gaps

Roof-material data come from one 2012 survey sample and are unweighted. Information on building regulation and industry: published information is limited.