The article describes family experiences which highlight Sahelian herdsmen’s perceptions of recurring crises and hazards they had to confront: droughts, epidemics, dangers, and constraints caused by land-use policy. Faced with factors that test their ability to withstand a hostile environment, herdsmen have developed new solutions and strategies, including changing the ways they move their herds and gain access to feed, developing more than one income-producing activity, and employing new practices to combat insecurity. After evaluating these coping strategies, we question the effectiveness of sedentarization strategies such as agropastoralism which could greatly reduce herd sizes and ultimately fail to offer a socially or economically viable alternative.