The village of Pah is located in the Pinari. It’s of modest size and has always been situated on a rock plateau, only accessible via a steep, narrow cleft. This made the village easily defensible in the past. Downside to this isolated and high location is the low amount of water available. When many of the houses were damaged due to heavy rains in 2002 many villagers decided to leave the old village and build new houses on a lower situated terrain.
It was there SDO realized a school building with three classrooms in that same year. The school was constructed using carved stone blocks, which was in line with the constructional tradition in the Pinari. The blocks were quarried from the open quarry in the near vicinity of the school. They have been meticulously carved to the right size by craftsmen, and were used to construct beautiful walls and elegant arches for the gallery. Next to the school a well and latrines were realized. In Mali the school year starts in October. Luckily the school was done in time, so it opened in 2002.
