Zimbabwe: The Terrace Builders of Nyanga
Image via Wikipedia
The Terrace Builders of Nyanga by Robert Soper
The stone ruins of the Nyanga area of eastern Zimbabwe have aroused much interest since they were first reported to the outside world at the end of the 19th century. Early fanciful speculations about their meaning have slowly given way to better understanding based on archaeological research, most recently by the University of Zimbabwe in co-operation with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe and the British Institute in Eastern Africa. The ruins represent the remains of family homesteads and extensive stone-built agricultural terraces. Successive stages of development have been traced, starting with settlements on some of the highest peaks around AD 1300 and expanding gradually for five centuries to cover an area of over 5000 square kilometres. These stages show how the farming community adapted to and exploited the opportunities offered by the varied environments of the Nyanga highlands and lowlands to develop a specialised agricultural system integrating cultivation and livestock. In this book, Robert Soper sets out the accumulated knowledge and understanding of the old Nyanga society, in particular the significance of its agricultural works to which the landscape bears eloquent witness.
978-1-77922-061-5 88pp 2007 Weaver Press, Zimbabwe $24.95/£19.95
How to get a copy
The Terrace Builders of Nyanga
Uganda : The Katine Project, a newspaper community project
Newspapers and development projects rarely appear in the same sentence unless it is negative reporting about some aspect of the project. But the Guardian and the Observer newspapers in the UK have broken the mould. For the last two years the newspapers have been supporting the work of the African Medical and Research Foundation (Amref) and Farm-Africa in a rural Ugandan village.
There is a dedicated website for the project http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine where you can find out more about the project. The website has lots of interactivity including videos, photos, a blog, lesson plans – and my favourite – a virtual village. In the virtual village you can follow the village as it develops, visiting the healthcare clinic, school, watch videos. You can watch films about community life, and learn about people in the village and follow their stories. There is a high level of accountability and accounts are published on the site so that donors can track the project. It’s an incredibly rich source which will really give you a really deep understanding of a village community in Uganda.
New Technology Helps Young African Journalists Make Their Mark
I love writing about training initiatives! It is so exciting to see people changing their own lives.
Since 2006 the Voices of Africa Media Foundation has been training young journalists in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa.
The foundation uses professional training materials and mobile phone technology to train reporters to create objective news in the form of written and video reports.
- Mobile phone camera rivals quality of professional camera
- Barriers between interviewer and subject lowered by using mobile phone instead of camera
- Cultural and language barriers to the media lowered by working with local youth>
- Talented, unemployed youth targeted
- News stories uploaded to training platform via internet or mobile phone (GPRS)
- Building a marketplace for assignments for our reporters through partnerships
- Providing visibility of local news published by talented reporters
- Creating a pool of professional independent community reporters
These young reporters are now making short video reports (on their mobiles) with the guidance of local professionals, interactive learning and online coaching. The best get their work published on publishing platforms such as Africa News.
Olivier Nyirubugara puts their success down to the rise of mobile wireless technology.
Thanks to tremendous progress achieved by the General Packet Radio System (GPRS), the wireless communication protocol, it is now possible for Africans to send articles and images (still and moving) about events taking place in their countries without using a computer and without having traditional internet connection.
You can find out more about Voices of Africa HERE.
You can see a variety of mobile reports on the Voices of Africa website including:
Kenya: Sack vegetables prove efficient
Kenya: How museum guard turned tree planter
Is Windows 7 any good for Africa?
Windows 7
At the same time Microsoft is also releasing a new range of Windows phones. Now this is where I do see Windows 7 making a difference in Africa. Apart from business use, it is through mobile phones that many Africans will access the internet. Perhaps they will bypass traditional computers entirely?
The company expects its partners to have several new devices in different styles and at different price points available before the end of the year, said Colin Erasmus, the head of the Windows business at Microsoft South Africa.
“Microsoft is leading the charge to create experiences that transcend individual PC, notebook, television and phone screens to create a connected experience across each of these routes to the Web,†said Erasmus. [Mivule Tech predicted back in February that theymight stick around with Windows XP or even totally migrate to Ubuntu as is the case in Nairobi, Kenya, where most Internet Cafés have moved to Ubuntu after government crack down on pirated software.
Even Windows Vista is considered elitist in most African countries. The expense of licences is just too much. Old copies of XP change hands and pirate copies abound on cheap Chinese computers. Open source initiatives such as Ubuntu have been encouraged as an alternative, and the arrival of Windows 7
Africa Food : Cookery in Ghana
- Image by Quantum Zen via Flickr
A long history of cook books
Cookery in Ghana has one of the longest written recipe traditions and recipes are still available from colonial times.
The Ghana Cookery Book is one of the oldest African cookbooks and is obviously popular because it is still in print (see below). It was published in 1933 and has over 800 recipes. If you are looking for authentic cookery from Ghana this is probably not the best book for you. It is said that it was probably produced to train cooks for expatriates.
Authentic African Cuisine from Ghana has a better reputation for ‘real’ Ghanaian cookery, but it is rather expensive.
On the net
BetumiBlog is always a good place to look for African recipes and you may be interested to explore Tropical Ghana Delights which is part of the Africa Cookbooks Project which was launched at TED Global in 2007.
You’ll find a history of Ghanaian cookbooks HERE
Here’s a nice little piece about a Canadian expat’s experience cooking in Ghana.
Recipehound has quite a good collection of Ghanaian recipes you might like to try, including favourites like Chicken Dorinda, Traditional Dark Chile Sambal and Okra Stew.
Suggested Books
You might like to have a look at the African cookbooks in my Amazon Bookstore (US)
Google Earth Outreach Program available in Africa.
Google Earth has announced that their Outreach Program is now available in Africa. The intention is for non-profit organisations to visualise their work using Google Earth by taking advantage of Google Earth Pro software grants and other opportunities.
Some of the orgaisations that are already using Google Earth to publicise aspects of their work are:
Save the Elephants, Mali gives a narrated tour. Download the tour here, or view it at www.google.com/cop15.
Mapping Africa’s Protected Areas Project maps Africa’s parks and reserves in Southern and East Africa. Download the MAPA Google Earth file here to begin exploring!
Visit http://earth.google.com/outreach/africa.html to learn more, apply for a Google Earth Pro software grant, and get training materials on various Google Geo products.
Africa Environment : Kenya to begin drilling for oil
Mineral rights are a particular issue in Africa as the search for Geology and Mineral Resources of West Africa
intensifies. Over recent months we’ve seen a lot about China’s investment in Africa (see China into Africa: Trade, Aid, and Influence and the rush for land-grabbing deals by a number of countries including China and India.
African countries do not have the resources to develop mineral fields themselves and are dependent on others to provide the expertise and equipment.
One of the latest Chinese projects is in Kenya where a new attempt is being made to find oil. China is providing the expertise and drilling equipment.
Kenya’s search for oil will intensify with the drilling of oil at Boghal near Isiolo in the next two weeks.
Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi said the government had signed 18 oil production sharing contracts in the last 18 months noting that they were at various stages of exploration. Speaking during the opening of the second South-South meeting on gas and oil management at Windsor Golf and Country Club in Nairobi, the minister said exploration had been stepped up in recent years. He said there were high hopes that the country could strike oil soon.
“For many years, Kenya has been part of the neglected East African exploration frontier. However, in the last five years, we have intensified the search for oil and gas in all our sedimentary basins,†said Mr Murungi.
He said China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which will undertake the drilling, was mobilising the equipment for sinking the well. The minister said the well would be five kilometres deep and is estimated to cost the company $26 million (Sh2 billion). [The Nation 12 Oct 2009]
Read the full article HERE
Teaching philosophy in Africa: Anglophone countries, UNESCO
“This publication reflects the debates and discussions held during the Mauritius meeting which allowed UNESCO to update and complete the data initially collected for the 2007 Study. A series of regional recommendations, elaborated and validated by the meeting participants, are addressed to Member States, to National Commissions for UNESCO, to philosophers, and to UNESCO and are included in the present publication.â€
How to get a copy
Download a pdf of the paper Teaching philosophy in Africa
Suggested Books
Intangible Heritage: 2 African traditions in need of safeguarding
Abu Dhabi: 12 elements in need of urgent safeguarding added to UNESCO‘s list of Intangible Heritage
The Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, chaired by Awadh Ali Saleh Al Musabi (United Arab Emirates – UAE), has identified 12 elements of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding in eight countries during its current session in Abu Dhabi. Two of them concern African traditions:
- Mali / The Sank̩ mon: collective fishing rite of the Sank̩ РThe Sank̩ mon collective fishing rite takes place in San in the S̩gou region of Mali every second Thursday of the seventh lunar month to commemorate the founding of the town. The rite begins with the sacrifice of roosters, goats and offerings made by village residents to the water spirits of the Sank̩ pond. It is also an expression of local culture through arts and crafts, knowledge and know-how in the fields of fisheries and water resources.
- Kenya / Traditions and practices associated to the Kayas in the sacred forests of the Mijikenda – The Mijikenda include nine Bantu-speaking ethnic groups in the Kaya forests of coastal Kenya. The identity of the Mijikenda is expressed through oral traditions and performing arts related to the sacred forests, which are also sources of valuable medicinal plants. These traditions and practices constitute their codes of ethics and governance systems, and include prayers, oath-taking, burial rites and charms, naming of the newly born, initiations, reconciliations, marriages and coronations. Kayas are fortified settlements whose cultural spaces are indispensable for the enactment of living traditions that underscore the identity, continuity and cohesion of the Mijikenda communities.
Read more at
Suggested Books
Intangible Heritage (Key Issues in Cultural Heritage)
African Intellectual Heritage (African American Studies)
Ghana: ‘Thank You’ Small Library pilot projects
A successful library project
The first two Thank You Small Library pilot projects are located in two communities in Accra, Ghana (Danfa and Abokobi). They were launched on October 6th, 2007. ST-EP Foundation is working with the Ghanaian Ministry of Tourism & Diasporan Relations to ensure the success of these small libraries. A Thank You Small Library is a place where children and adults can study and read. Meanwhile, bread and refreshments are given to the children to encourage them to visit the library and use its resources. Whether its used for homework or causal reading, the Thank You Small Library is a safe and fun environment for all ages to gather and enjoy. To open a Thank You Small Library one does not have to start from scratch. It can be created by using an existing structure and other materials available in a community. The first 1000 educational books in each library have been supplied by the ST-EP Foundation.
The ST-EP Foundation is a cornerstone of the ST-EP program, which was established in 2003 by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The ST-EP name stands for Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty, and that tells a great deal about both the goals of the program generally and the work of the Foundation in particular.
Web site http://www.unwtostep.org/foundation/foundation1.asp
Suggested Book
Grantsmanship for Small Libraries and School Library Media Centers:
Plastic Kettles in Africa
One of the things I brought back from my time in Africa was a plastic kettle from Mali. I remember when I first saw one and how I wondered what on earth it was. Made in the traditional shape of a metal kettle that one would put on a fire to heat water, these kettles are made from recycled plastic in a myriad of bright colours. Their purpose is to hold water for the ritual washing before Islamic prayers or to take to the pit toilet to use water for cleaning with the left hand instead of toilet paper. Usually left in a prominent place their absence acts as a signal that the washing place (for urination and washing) or pit toilet is occupied. They are also found in most indoor bathrooms in Mali as an alternative or addition to toilet paper.
Recycling plastic is an important business in West Africa. You can find out more at Made in Africa:
Every year, tons of plastic products are produced and discarded after use; then, they are collected and sold back to the factories producing plastic products. The result is that plastic goods – buckets, tubs and water containers that rival the batik-coloured cotton materials in the flamboyancy of their hues – are for sale in large quantities in all markets, in both the cities and the villages.
You’ll find kettles among other African products at this Guinea store: Tafagui Sarl
Jen in Ghana has a really good description of the use of these kettles HERE
I loved this evocative picture by Lunatrix on Flickr
Mali: Provoking rain?
Image by X Ceccaldi via Flickr
Is cloud seeding the answer?
Desertification and low annual rainfall have been exacerbating hardship in many African countries. One innovation that is currently being trialed is that of “cloud seeding“.
The West African Monsoon and Rainfall Enhancement programme has been running trials in Mali and training Malians since 2006.
The first three years (2006, 2007, 2008) focused on sampling of clouds and aerosols with aircraft and radar observations along with a preliminary randomized seeding program. The 2009 program (June-September) will continue to sample clouds and aerosol along with the continuation of an exploratory randomized seeding program.
A new report on IRIN NEWS, MALI: Faking snow in the desert to boost rain, continues the story.