Resilience and Social Change in the Context of a Drinking Water Crisis in Bouake

The populations of the commune of Bouaké, located in the north-central part of Côte d'Ivoire, experienced in 2018 a drinking water crisis following the drying up of the 'loka' dam operated by the Water Distribution Company of Côte d'Ivoire. This crisis lasted for about 6 months in most of the said locality. To curb it and avoid its corollary of health risks, collective, individual and institutional responses have been made. Using a retrospective and highly ethnographic approach, this research analyzes the resilience and social changes brought about by this crisis in the commune of Bouaké. The data used in this study comes from direct observation, image capture, field diaries and semi-structured interviews with institutional, health and community actors, local authorities and the population.