No Gold for Kalsaka: A Burkina Faso community’s lost land

A community fights to survive and claim back its dignity after the arrival of a multinational gold mine.

Editor’s note: This film will be removed on September 19, 2020.

Filmmaker: Michel K Zongo

For countless generations, the people of Kalsaka, a small village in Burkina Faso, have made their living from artisanal gold panning.

This ended in 2008 with the arrival of a multinational mining corporation, which expropriated local land and exploited its natural resources.

After extracting 18 tonnes of gold, the company closed its mining operations in Kalsaka. The local community reflects on the aftermath as it tries to survive and reclaim its land and future.