Water, Life, and Profit offers a holistic analysis of the people, economies, cultural symbolism, and material culture involved in the management, production, distribution, and consumption of drinking water in the urban context of Niamey, Niger. Paying particular attention to two key groups of people who provide water to most of Niamey's residents - door-to-door water vendors, and those who sell water in one-half-liter plastic bags (sachets) on the street or in small shops - the authors offer new insights into how Niamey's water economies affect gender, ethnicity, class, and spatial structure today.

Sara Beth Keough is Professor of Geography at Saginaw Valley State University. Her research focuses on material culture and human-environment interactions in West Africa and Canada, particularly water access and urban development in resource-dependent communities. She has served as Editor of the academic journal Material Culture since 2008.