Living in lava in Cape Verde

Despite regular eruptions, people of a village in Cape Verde continue to rebuild their homes at the foot of a volcano.

Fogo, Cape Verde – When the volcano on Fogo, one of the 10 islands that comprise the West African nation of Cape Verde, last erupted in 2014, the lava buried homes and flooded roads. It also swallowed schools and tore through precious fields of grapes and figs.

Instead of moving, the residents of Cha das Caldeiras, a village that sits inside a crater and at the foot of the active volcano, counted down the days until they could return and rebuild – just as they always do.

Though the volcano has erupted six times over the past 200 years, the crater is their home, they say. They do not know any other way of life, nor do they want to.