week 127

 

Mon: Next time you bite a baguette get to appreciate the skill it takes to fold the dough into five proper grooves.

Tue: Mozambique after two consecutive wars (independence and civil) has a huge potential to lure investment from China, labor from South Africa and tourists from Europe.

Wed: A minister of fisheries of lebanese birth finally enforced senegalese sovereignty over its territorial waters and seized flag-of-convenience vessels exploiting them illegally.

Thu: Unreported catch from recreational fishing in the Bahamas, or artisanal fishing in Senegal and the slowly recovery of the collapsed cod fishing in Newfoundland paint a worrisome scene of worldwide unsustainable practices.

Fri: Singer Yossou N’dour doing a “cameo” as minister of tourism brought a very welcomed visa change status for euro and yank tourists.

 

week 126

 

Mon: Sugar in disguise is present in everyday food from the obvious tart pastry to the potato chips bag.

Tue: How different the new millennium has treated Ethiopia and neighboring Somalia; one from famine to economic boom, the other from maritime commerce to endless war.

Wed: Seeing the ferry from Dakar to Ziguinchor stopping again at a brand new docking platform on the fluvial island of Caravan in Casamance river delta gives hope of recovery to the entire region.

Thu: Baobab quasi-eternal trees are the perfect picture for the mother continent in its nurturing of all type of living creatures from tiny insects and small mammals to huge vultures.

Fri: “Manos Unidas” NGO work in rural Casamance rebuilding schools made the teacher armed with a blackboard and chalk to cry, “we have it all”. One year student tuition: 15 euros!

 

week 125

 

Mon: Sampling city sewage for traces of recreational drug metabolites gives an idea of a society happiness level.

Tue: Being the unsustainable practices of palm tree exploitation fields in Angola, the dandies seeking dignity in Kinshasa or the political underground movement in Kampala, all are signs of a vibrant continent.

Wed: The Bassari people, who among others, populate the areas around Kedougou, Bandafassi, Dindefelo, and Fongolimbi, are being recognized by the central government for the unique social and cultural patrimony they contribute to the country and the world.

Thu: “Racines et ailes” took us to St. Louis streets to meet the carnival parade on a true “toutes les couleurs” scale.

Fri: Watching the Casamance fishing practices of 20 years ago is a vivid example of sustainability.

 

 

 

week 124

 

Mon: How to make an “staycation” friendly to the environment? Think about volunteering at a nearby farm.

Tue: A handicapped journalist of Nigerian roots touring the continent is a very hopeful sign for the well being of Africa, even with the fulani conflict at his doorstep.

Wed: Casamance economy recovery based on sustainability, no matter the source of income (eco-tourism, mangrove rehabilitation, bio-charcoal production, rice harvesting), is an example worth imitating elsewhere.

Thu: The finnish viking embarks again on an epic tour of the Russian north, from Murmansk to Anadyr, without skipping the reindeer herding Nenet people of the Yamal peninsula.

Fri: Sao Paulo’s Little Tokyo is a very disorienting melting pot of japanese restrain surrounded by brazilian effervescence.