W. Africa

Mostly Photos of Food and Friends in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

by phil March 6, 2012 Cote D'Ivoire

Rain animates the metal roofs and invites us to sleep. It is Abidjan’s only tranquilizer. The shops close, the coupe-decale stops playing, the potholes grow deeper. The morning after a night of rain, we carry our bodies to a shared taxi. Me, my former couchsurfing hosts turned business partners, Faty and David, and Faty’s neighbor, [...]

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Proof of Cote d’Ivoire’s Progress

by phil March 1, 2012 Cote D'Ivoire

On the left, a toilet on the southern edge of Yamoussoukro in October 2010. On the right, the same toilet in March 2012. The wall has been sealed! (I realize the photo on the right looks far older.. right = iphone camera, left = canon s90). For real though, Cote d’Ivoire, despite the political divisions [...]

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Want to Experience the Energy at Festival sur le Niger? Watch this

by phil February 20, 2012 Mali

I just returned to Bamako from the Festival sur le Niger in Segou. Most festivals are removed from reality in the best way possible, but this weekend was particularly incredible. I plan on returning every year. This is a clip from Salif Keita’s Saturday night performance. The stage is in the Niger River; the crowd [...]

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Bamako Balani Shows: Streetside Music, Theater and Dance

by phil February 16, 2012 Mali
balani show bamako

Please read this post if you haven’t already. I’m about to talk about block parties in Bamako, but there is still a refugee crisis in the Sahel. A few weeks ago I spent an evening on the most crowded street corner of the quinzambougou neighborhood in Bamako. Chris from Sahel Sounds had invited me to [...]

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2 Easy Ways you Can Help over 20,000 Malian Refugees Right Now

by phil February 7, 2012 Mali

UPDATE 2/10/11: My host family from Timbuktu has made it to Mauritania. They are staying in the border town of Fassala. They are safe. The UNHCR has a camp there and the family reports that they have shelter and (limited) food. People continue to arrive in a steady stream. If anyone knows how to send [...]

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2012 Festival au Désert in Words and Photos + Update from Bamako

by phil February 3, 2012 Mali

I recapped the Festival briefly in this post. The event was over two weeks ago. A lot has changed in northern Mali (and in Bamako, you could say) since then. I will address this to an extent later in the post. I will also list some resources for you to follow. I first traveled to [...]

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