THE BINGER HOUSE

Binger's house - or rather what's left of it - is located in a small family courtyard. Louis-Gustave Binger arrived there in December 1888, two months after Marcel Treich-Laplène, and was reportedly accommodated there by a rich slave trader named Moustapha Ouattara. It was the dean of the concession who insisted on keeping the relics, which had been seriously damaged by time and bad weather. This beaten earth hut, with its triangular claustras reminiscent of the Sudanese style in which it was built, is today a bled and dishevelled building that serves as a storehouse for firewood, empty bottles and out of order utensils. The only indication that Binger lived there is the cement sign on which is handwritten 'Here Captain Binger stayed during his first exploration of the Ivory Coast in 1888'. While evoking this piece of history, you will be able to share a moment in the daily life of a family from Bondoukou, "côté cour" as they say. La Vieille finds it hard to hide her distress and jokingly tells that if Binger were to return to Bondoukou today, he would certainly prefer to sleep in a hotel rather than in this old shack that has become unhealthy. With a sad air, it evokes the indifference of the authorities towards this relic of the city's past. Without serious renovation, the house where the former governor stayed is eating an already too small courtyard. "If it goes on like this, we won't have to tire of trying to consolidate it on our own. »