The stilted village of Ganvié is reputed to be Africa's largest lake village. Settled by the Tofinou people in the sixteenth century, the village is an atmospheric setting of thatched huts, balanced precariously on wooden stilts, where daily life, in all its various walks, takes place on or near the water.

Fishing is still the principal activity for the inhabitants and every day the men go about their business, whilst women deliver their goods to the floating market, a riot of colour that bobs gently up and down in the barter of exchange.