under the baobab tree

aksum coffee house

Jarmo — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:32:47 +0000

Straight from the homeland of coffee, Aksum Coffee House is offering freshly roasted Ethiopian single origin coffee in a lovely surroundings in the heart of Les Marolles in Brussels. The refurbishing work is under way and the opening day is approaching. You are warmly welcome to have a taste of fresh Harar or Limu, or snacks, sweets and drinks out of Africa at Rue Haute 140, Brussels from 17 October 2010 on!

deserts, mountains and sacred cities

Jarmo — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:18:48 +0000

Eastern Ethiopia: deserts, mountains and sacred cities from 22 December 2010 to 4 January 2011 by Harmattan Tours.

Our Eastern Ethiopian tour includes the famous Ethiopian Orthodox shrines of Lalibela and the fascinating Muslim holy city of Harar – both Unesco world heritage sites - the savanna of Awash National Park, the rugged Lasta mountains and the surreal lunar landscape of the Danakil desert – an area characterized by superlatives and extremes.

Keep an eye on the Harmattan Tours website for upcoming exciting destinations!

time flies!

Jarmo — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:16:38 +0000

A year and a half seems to have passed since I last wrote an entry to this blog. I even needed to dig my username from under some dust to be able to come back and log in.

In the near future we are opening a coffee house that will also be a platform in which African artists and designers can exhibit their work, and there will be a specific blog to promote this. I will from here on share my blogging time between this blog and the new on the coffee house, so more stories on African topics will be on the menu again!

idrissa guiro: barcelone ou la mort

Jarmo — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:18:53 +0000

Barça ou Barzakh (Barcelone ou la mort, Barcelona or Death) is Idrissa Guiro’s first film and an eye-opener that shows the link between the massive overfishing by the EU fishing fleets in Senegal (and West Africa) and migration to Europe. The strength of this documentary is particularly in the fact that it shows what is behind the faceless figures of immigrants you read from the news; practically everyone for instance in Thiaroye-sur-Mer, where fishing used to be the main source of income, has a brother, father, uncle, or friend who risked their lives in hope of a future for himself and his extended family. Some of them manage to make it to Europe but many die on this trip, and yet new candidates keep trying despite the risks involved, in lack of better alternatives.

Keep an eye on this excellent documentary and go and see it if the opportunity arises!

Here is a short clip from Barça ou Barzakh in You Tube (in French)

More information on the impact of overfishing

donkey mobile library

Jarmo — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:32:18 +0000

Have you ever heard of donkey mobile library? If not, have a look at this inspiring clip from Awassa, Ethiopia, featuring Yohannes Gebregeorgis’ fantastic initiatives that help children in Ethiopia to have access to books also outside school. Gebregeorgis first opened a children’s library at his own home and has now gone mobile in rural areas. This idea is worth disseminating widely!

donkeys bearing gifts clip

launch of A24 Media

Jarmo — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:02:57 +0000

This link will take you to the website of A 24 Media, a recently launched online delivery site for material from African journalists, broadcasters and NGO’s. Now you have the opportunity to have access to news material without international crews covering local stories. Indeed a very welcomed African perspective on issues affecting the continent!

support training through donated technology

Jarmo — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:44:07 +0000

The Ndiagamar School Project in Dakar would like to encourage companies and individuals to donate computers and computer equipment so that voluntary-based schools in Senegal can put them to work for a while longer.

Donating computer equipment to the Ndiagamar School Project is a safe way to discard used equipment when you upgrade your computer. Before taken into use in schools, we will send your computer to a refurbisher, who will ensure that the equipment works well and runs legal copies of software, and that any e-waste is disposed of properly. If you can, include the keyboard, mouse, printer, modem, packaged software, or any other accessories you use with the computer. Schools can almost always put them to good use.

If you donate to a non-profit organization, you are eligible for a tax deduction. Business donors can deduct the un-depreciated value of the computer, and individuals can deduct the current market value of a computer. We can provide a tax receipt upon request.

Please forward this information to companies and individuals that may consider upgrading their computer equipment and are looking for possibilities of donating in the following locations: Brussels, Paris, London, or Dakar. If you would like to donate or find out more about this project, please contact us via info@ndiagamar.org or visit our web site.

Avoid e-waste – reuse!

sons of bilal, sons of the bambara

Jarmo — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:36:54 +0000

The qnawa are the descendants of the black African slaves that were brought into the Maghreb from the 17th century onwards. They venerate the memory of Bilal Ibn Rabah, an Abyssinian Christian slave that was freed and who became the Prophet’s muezzin and one of his most loyal companions. Bilal is said to have been the first person who recited the adhan, the call for prayer, in public.

I have been a fan of gnawa music for a long, long time and have just found a new album that I would like to recommend to anyone reading this blog. It is called Gnawa Home Songs, a collective recording that has been made in a homy atmosphere in Tamesloht. This is a first-ever gathering of some great Moroccan voices, such as Hamid Kasri, Amida & Hassan Boussou, Abdelkebir Merchane, Abdelkebir Amlil and Zef Zaf, who also sings in Bambara. This is simply a fantastic album to all those who can easily forget yourselves into the incantatory blues of the gnawa.

It would be great to attend a gnawa festival, or even better, a lila, which is a complex and intimate and fairly ecstatic combination of music and dance practised by the brotherhood. As I will soon have the opportunity to visit Marrakesh again, at least I will buy myself a couple of pairs of qaraqib, those neat metal castanets used to produce that profound trance-like beat to the qnawa music.

queen of sheba and solomon the king

Jarmo — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:48:55 +0000

I heard about Eyeluta & Kirkos first time in Axum, where I saw these personages depicted in a pocket-size icon. I was told that they belong to the famous gallery of historical characters often present in Ethiopian orthodox iconography, because according to their story they were once saved from furnace by the archangel Gabriel. Their story rings a familiar bell from the Old Testament, in which the King Nebuchadnezzar throws Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into a burning furnace because they refuse to worship a golden statue made by the king. They too are miraculously saved from the fire by an angel. These convergences are simply fascinating! I am only wondering whether the Ethiopian version of Eyeluta & Kirkos can actually be found in Kebra Nagast, The Book of the Glory of Kings, which tells the history of the Solomonic dynasties. For a long time this book has been on my reading list… In Kebra Nagast you can update your knowledge on the famous encounter between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, which eventually leads to their son Menyelek’s smuggling the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. It appears that Solomon was quite a charmer:

“And she marvelled in her heart, and was utterly astonished in her mind, and she recognized in her understanding, and perceived very clearly with her eyes how admirable he was; and she wondered exceedingly because of what she saw and heard with him—how perfect he was in composure, and wise in understanding, and pleasant in graciousness, and commanding in stature. And she observed the subtlety of his voice, and the discreet utterances of his lips, and that he gave his commands with dignity, and that his replies were made quietly and with the fear of God. All these things she saw, and she was astonished at the abundance of his wisdom, and there was nothing whatsoever wanting in his word and speech, but everything that he spoke was perfect.”

Chapter 25: How the Queen came to Solomon the King. The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek (I) or, The KEBRA NAGAST (translated by E. A. Wallis Budge), London, 1932

summer in a dakar suburb

Jarmo — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:13:58 +0000

The Ndiagamar School in Dakar, Senegal is on a summer break right now and the schoolboys and schoolgirls are on a well-earned holiday. Yet the school building is bustling with life as the construction of new lavatories and renovation works are under way. Have a look at our latest photo album on the school’s website and while you are at it, spread the word about our work!

The Ndiagamar School is running entirely on a voluntary basis and help is needed. You can help in many ways: by donating money or schooling materials, by joining our cause in Facebook and inviting all your friends to come along, or by getting involved with some of our ongoing or upcoming projects. You are also warmly welcome to visit the school in Dakar!