Since I was a teenager I dreamed of working in Africa. In 2019 I had an opportunity to speak at a conference in Namibia, but I still longed to do more. When my friends Pat and Becky invited me to work with Nomad Foundation, I was very excited. I have been doing global work in […]
Cultural
What it’s like to go on a mission
Besides all the work and projects that you have been reading about in this blog, I thought I’d try to give you an idea of what the travel is like–not the airplane–you all know about that. I can’t really give you (and don’t want to) the bone crunching experience of driving off road through the […]
Iferouane goats and women’s co-op
Every year for 15 years we have done some kind of project in Iferouane, a community that has proved to be very industrious and very worthy of the things we do. After severe flooding last year we helped rehabilitate potato gardens. Still suffering from the loss of their herds in that flooding, this year we […]
Jewelers get tools and we all get a big party
On Graduation day for the matrones we called together 15 jewelers chosen in advance and distributed 15 sets of jewelry tools generously donated by Toolbox initiative. And then they threw us a party ALL THIS JUST FOR US….WOW!
Not all work
Having finished the matrone training we got ready to go to a big Wodaabe festival. This was supposed to happen last year and got postponed, so I was anxious for the new team to see this remarkable thing. We had a morning to kill since it was windy and we knew the dancing would not […]
Niger mission 2017 starts here
Roadtrip Niger premier successful
So many old friends and new got together to celebrate the US premier of Benedicte Schoyen’s film Roadtrip Niger. The event raised $23,912 for the Nomad Foundation…Thank you to all who supported it. Hope you enjoyed the event.
Not ALL work!
The second day of our trip we were invited to a wedding at the Wodaabe community of Foudouk. So even though we all work like slaves, we have a lot of fun too!!!
Tamesna school extras–music, art and ag
Tamesna school is rare in Niger because we support extra curricular programs that bring new opportunities for the students. Music, particularly guitar is an important tradition to all Tuareg who have lived through recent rebellions, but now that there is peace, the older rebellion musicians are no longer teaching the Tuareg guitar tradition to the young. […]
Agadez 2016
After some serious shopping for nomad gallery in Togo, a lovely meeting with the us ambassador to Niger, who was very complimentary of our work, I arrived in Agadez to be greeted with enthusiasm by Djado. We must cancel our annual tamesna festival this year because of an outbreak of Rift Valley fever. The authorities […]
Music Program
Since we have worked so long with musicians–since 1995 when we brought the first African artist, Prince Sissokho, a kora player from Senegal to the US, we have sponsored five music tours of Tuareg musicians. One of our drivers, Alhassane, was part of the group who toured. He loves to work with children so will […]
Earthbag decorations–Art at Tamesna school
I have had great fun in the past years organizing educational projects which I knew nothing about; solar panel fabrication, medical and midwife training, earth bag building. I learned a lot from the experts we brought in. While I was working on these jobs, I turned over the art program to another artist, Linda […]
Nomadgal Jewelry — Nov.29 & Dec. 2-13
I have been making a lot of jewelry while I’m here. The jewelers come to my house—grand central– and I place orders, buy beads at the market and string them. I suppose it is more elegant to say I design them. With our jewelry gala coming up Nov. 29 and having a booth at Mandalay […]
Keeping busy–big plans for next year
I finally got around to painting the new signs to direct people from the highway to Tamesna. Dr. Bob was not happy that I hadn’t added my decorative touch so here you are Bob. This is for you. Hasso stopped by to say hi with his daughters. Since he is one of the invited musicians […]
Staff Party at Tamesna
Since my first trip out to Tamesna I have gone through such internet frustration that I cannot even begin to describe since it would take me as long to describe as it took me to solve–about a week. One day it took me four hours to upload one of the new students photos to the […]
Tamesna festival 2014
Click here to see Niger National Televisions reporting on the Tamesna Festival 2014 It has been a long time building. We have been working like crazy to present our projects to as many nomads as possible. Nomads come to festivals in the season after the rains when their herds are fat and there is some […]
Jewelry
Still in mourning about having to cancel all our volunteers (see two previous posts) and trying to recover. I thought I would be coming home early, but we have decided I am needed to help with the festival and have been granted permission to go with the President of the Regional Council of Agadez (the […]
Traditions unchanged–Gerewol Tamaya
After two days spent among the thousands of nomads gathered for the Worso of the Behame’en, Peroji’s lineage, we learned of another festival only a 2 hour drive away. The Worso is a family gathering to which everyone brings their kids, houses and herds. They are celebrating many things like the “humtu” or end of […]
Peroji’s family–then and now
It was 20 years ago when I first met Peroji’s family. Traveling on my first trip to Niger with my new friend Irma Turtle. We were met at the airport by her friends Moneidji and Dula. I saw both of their sons this trip, dancing in a Gerewol. I have gone back to look at […]
Reunion at the Worso
After a discouraging first week when we (the three star photographers) and I were able to find only one festival rehearsal, visit nomadic camps and a rather modern Tuareg wedding with electric guitar and few camels (some well dressed people though), we decided to switch our schedule and go out to the dunes for a […]
Wodaabe festivals
I have been looking, with three very accomplished photographers of tribal people, for Wodaabe festivals–and having a lot of fun with my new camera–taking night shots is so much fun.
Guinea Bissau–and some
I have finally arrived in Agadez after a tour of no less than 11 west African airports–a long boring story–and not a fun exploration–just trying to get from one point to another–the points happened to be places nobody else wanted to go–so lots of stops in between: Bissau, Dakar, Bamako, Conakry, Lome, Cotonou, Niamey, Maradi, […]
Making a movie
Benedicte Schoyen was determined to make a movie about the Nomad Foundation and travel with me and her husband Ned to Niger to shoot it—and she did. We talked about it for years and it has finally happened. She and Cooper Bates were the cameramen and Ned the sound man. As we travelled and worked […]
Iferouane
Iferouane is the gate to the Tenere desert. It was always a prosperous town full of artisans and gardeners. The location was one that all tourists would pass by and so a thriving community of jewelers and leatherworkers grew and a small museum was built. In January of 2007, it was the site of the […]
Party at Aboye
After all our work was done we headed for the desert: a region we had not been able to visit since 2007. On the way we stopped at Aboye, checked on the matrone, and had a party for the people there. When we arrived and they saw who was with us: tuareg guitarists Hasso and […]
Grand Opening Festival for Tamesna Center for nomadic life
After almost five years of work the Tamesna Center had its grand opening. We wanted to celebrate and to announce our presence officially so that the government will participate in or take over some of the programs. Our goal is for the center to be managed locally. It will be a gradual change over, with […]
Linda Taylor’s Painting programs
Linda Taylor a well known artist, educator and Rotarian from Ojai West provided materials and devised arts programs for the kids at Tamesna. The first was a large painting based on the outlines of several of their shadows. She prepared the canvas and mixed the paint and then let them go for it. The shadow […]
Cooper Bates’ Student Photography Program
Five students at Tamesna School were chosen to lead groups to take a series of photos of their lives. Cooper brought cameras that were issued to them for a day. Halela, Almoustapha, Ahmed, Aghali and Ibrahim took their cameras and were off for the day. When they turned in their cameras the next day, Cooper […]
Benedicte’s Dance program at Tamesna
The film crew arrived headed by Benedicte Schoyen–who is demonstrating dance to the studensts at the school. being filmed by Cooper Bates well attired in a turban. Bennie first did a demonstration, then taught the whole class the chicken dance–which much to our chagrin stuck in our heads for several days. Then she chose several […]
The Film Crew Arrives
After a week of organization–preparing the residence for an onslaught of guests, Linda Lamb and I welcomed the film crew consisting of Benedicte Schoyen, Ned Clark and Cooper Bates. After three days on the road from Los Angeles, they didn’t miss a beat. Bennie got acquainted our security first. Then we visited a […]
Wodaabe Splendor
We are here in Niger awaiting the arrival of the film crew and had a couple of days so–hearing about a big Wodaabe festival, we decided to check it out. With our 20 man security team ahead and behind we arrived and actually found the festival. Fortunately many old friends were there–it was a Gerewol […]
Wodaabe Assembly
From the Cure Salee, we went to the National Assembly of Wodaabe at Tagoudoumt. We were not the only ones going from one party to another. This couple was on their way from the Cure Salee to the Assemblee at Tagoudoumt. Is she a stolen bride?? Here a group of young men are headed […]
Cure Salee– a nomadic (Tuareg and Wodaabe) celebration
The Cure Salee is held every year after the rainy season, in the town of Ingall as an opportunity for the nomads to gather to celebrate the rains–if there are no rains–no festival. This year the rains were extraordinary–a very good thing for the nomads who will have good pasture all year, but many people […]
Wedding of Assadek
I was invited to a rather large wedding. Tuareg weddings usually go for several days. The modern adaptations don’t have the glorious camel parades of the bush, but they always have a Tuareg guitar. Fashion changes and the traditional clothing is no longer worn by the women at many city weddings, but the men are […]
Cultural finale–weddings, funerals and Bombino playing Tuareg rock
There has been a flurry of interesting cultural events in our last few days. Before she left Linda, Bob and Louine made some purchases of the beautiful work of the Tuareg jewelers and leather workers. An old jeweler friend from Iferouane brought a selection to the house. I love to buy from them as the […]
Gani Festival in Ingall
We were at a loss for what to do the first afternoon since we had to send a car for the midwife trainees–we will call them matrones, since they will not reach the level of a midwife. And we had no medicines to treat patients–but we heard of festival in Ingall so we decided head […]
Mission accomplished, in spite of…
To summarize and amazingly productive trip–in spite of all the frustrations we got it done. To start out with, because of fears for our security we were forced to pay for a 20 man security detail. But-inspite-of taking a big chunk out of our budget, they turned out to be very competent, we had NO […]
Party time
Knowing that tomorrow is going to be a very long day with the start of both the midwife training and the medical treatments at the clinic we decided to give Sol a going away party a day early. Alhassane played his guitar. The two Wodaabe midwife trainees and one Tuareg were there and a drunk […]
It’s a Wodaabe party–bring the cows!
The Wodaabe are nomads–so when they go to a party they don’t leave their house behind–they bring it with them along with all their herds, wives, kids and whatever. Until I met the Wodaabe I had never seen anyone wear a squirt gun or a flashlight as a piece of jewelry–how about […]
To the Wodaabe Gerewol
After days of dithering in Niamey with appointments and false starts we headed to Agadez with the information that a military escort was no longer necessary. This from the authorities in Niamey and the governor of Agadez. Apparently the governor of Taouha (about 2/3 of the way) had not gotten this news and at the […]
