Roofing in Togo

Togo is a narrow country running inland from the Gulf of Guinea, from a humid coast through forested hills to savanna in the north. Its traditional roofs were thatch over earth walls in most regions and, in the far north, the earth terraces and granaries of the Batammariba tower-houses. Household surveys show a rapid shift to metal sheet during the 2010s.

Climate and hazards

The south has a humid tropical climate with two rainy seasons; the north has one rainy season and a long dry season with harmattan dust. Heavy rains damage earth and thatch buildings: in August 2018, storms caused enough damage in Koutammakou that UNESCO's Heritage Emergency Fund financed an assessment mission. Heat gain through thin metal roofs is a comfort issue.

Roofing history

The Batammariba (Tammari) peoples settled in the Koutammakou area of northern Togo and neighbouring Benin in the 17th or 18th century, bringing their tradition of earthen tower-houses. Elsewhere, roofs of grass and palm-leaf thatch were widespread; they were still recorded on almost a quarter of households surveyed in 2010.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Takienta (tower-house): a cluster of linked earth towers on a circular or elliptical plan, with livestock at ground level and granaries standing on the roof terrace. Earth, wood and straw are the main materials. About 1,716 are still inhabited on the Togolese side of Koutammakou (see Batammariba takienta).
• Thatch: grass and palm-leaf thatch over earth or timber framing, still recorded on a minority of homes.

Roofing today

Two rounds of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) show the change. Figures below are unweighted counts in the household survey samples:

Main roof material	MICS 2010	MICS 2017
Metal sheet (2010: "zinc/fibre cement"; 2017: "metal/aluminium")	65.7%	71.1%
Thatch or palm leaf	22.7%	3.7%
Grass	1.9%	4.7%
Cement or concrete slab	3.8%	4.9%
Fibre cement (2017 category "calamine/fibre de ciment")	-	4.2%
Ceramic tiles	2.3%	3.1%
Shingles	0.7%	1.8%

Category definitions changed between rounds, so the figures are not perfectly comparable. Even so, they show thatch and palm-leaf roofs falling from more than a fifth of households to under a tenth (including grass), with metal sheet and concrete taking their place.

Codes, standards and regulation

The houses of Koutammakou are protected as part of a World Heritage property, with management shared with Benin since the 2023 extension.

Notable roofs

• Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba: earthen tower-houses with roof-terrace granaries, a World Heritage site since 2004. UNESCO notes that new detached houses with metal ("tin") roofs and the growing scarcity of wood and straw are among the pressures on the traditional houses.

Local roofing terms

• tôle (French): metal roof sheet.
• dalle (French): concrete roof slab.
• takienta / sikien (Ditammari): tower-house / tower-houses.

Sources and gaps

Survey figures are unweighted sample counts. Information on southern Togolese vernacular roofs, codes and industry: published information is limited.