“Nearly 900 beggars, homeless people and suspected petty thieves, including dozens of children, have recently been rounded up from the nation’s neatly swept streets and sent — without trial or even a court appearance — to the island of Iwawa on Lake Kivu.” “Young detainees on Iwawa Island demonstrating their ability to box, which is one of the skills they are said to be taught there.” Read more here about Rwanda’s island prison.

“Nearly 900 beggars, homeless people and suspected petty thieves, including dozens of children, have recently been rounded up from the nation’s neatly swept streets and sent — without trial or even a court appearance — to the island of Iwawa on Lake Kivu.”

“Young detainees on Iwawa Island demonstrating their ability to box, which is one of the skills they are said to be taught there.”

Read more here about Rwanda’s island prison.

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

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Dick Brummelman is “grumpy man” with impeccable taste in African music. You can follow him on twitter or blip.fm. Every day during the World Cup he posts a track from an artist of each country playing that day. During the Cameroon - Japan match he blipped Coco Mbassi’s “Bhafrika”.

The track I’ve posted here is also a Coco Mbassi tune, called “Iwiye”

Enjoy it.

“Coco Mbassi is a singer and songwriter from Cameroon in West Africa who made her name as a backing vocalist with leading African and French pop artists based in Paris, including Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare, Touré Kunda, Manu Dibango and Ray Lema. She was nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards in 2002 and was the winner of the German Record Critics prize in 2001 and the Radio France Internationale Discoveries contest in 1996.”

Source

Oops, I’ve been neglecting my “blog” again. Here’s an article which first appeared on Fast Company in April. Funny how instinctively I say “on” Fast Company, as opposed to “in” Fast Company. Do people really still buy the print version? Anyway, I made a note to myself to “tumble” the article in April, so that’s a two-month delay from decision to execution. About average for me. “Colors are probably the most obvious way that design varies across cultures (a theme that came up in our interview with Frog Design about designing for China). But the funny thing is that for most designers and companies, those color sensibilities often don’t rise past “Red is lucky in China; blue is soothing in the West.” That’s naive, as this superb infographic by David McCandless and Always With Honor shows. The chart encompasses 10 different cultures, and 62 emotions (!!!). The cultures are represented by concentric rings, and the emotions are represented by slices of the circle. Thus, if you want to understand about Japanese color sensibilities, you read around the graph. And if you want to learn what colors mean “danger” across cultures, you just read vertically, down section 15”

Oops, I’ve been neglecting my “blog” again. Here’s an article which first appeared on Fast Company in April. Funny how instinctively I say “on” Fast Company, as opposed to “in” Fast Company. Do people really still buy the print version? Anyway, I made a note to myself to “tumble” the article in April, so that’s a two-month delay from decision to execution. About average for me.

“Colors are probably the most obvious way that design varies across cultures (a theme that came up in our interview with Frog Design about designing for China). But the funny thing is that for most designers and companies, those color sensibilities often don’t rise past “Red is lucky in China; blue is soothing in the West.” That’s naive, as this superb infographic by David McCandless and Always With Honor shows.

The chart encompasses 10 different cultures, and 62 emotions (!!!). The cultures are represented by concentric rings, and the emotions are represented by slices of the circle. Thus, if you want to understand about Japanese color sensibilities, you read around the graph. And if you want to learn what colors mean “danger” across cultures, you just read vertically, down section 15”

hellaposer: Hey, look, it’s the Beastie Boys: “Don’t you tell me to smile, you stick around I’ll make it worth your while.” Photo credit: Alex Innes. At an orphanage in Malawi.

hellaposer:

Hey, look, it’s the Beastie Boys:

“Don’t you tell me to smile, you stick around I’ll make it worth your while.”

Photo credit: Alex Innes. At an orphanage in Malawi.

From SUNO’s 2009 (yes I’m a little late with this) collection. For a fun video featuring their 2010 resort collection click here. This seems to have been shot in Puerto Rico for some bizarre reason. “SUNO was formed in 2008 by Max Osterweis after more than a decade of collecting textiles in visits to Kenya. Building a successful and visible company that employs local Kenyan talent, treats workers fairly, and showcases some of Kenya’s artistry could potentially affect positive and lasting social and economic change. The design and development for SUNO takes place in New York City, employing skilled sample and pattern makers in New York’s Garment district. The patterns and samples and then brought to Kenya where the garments are then artisinally produced in small workshops. The inspiration for this first collection comes from both the women of coastal East Africa and the women of downtown New York.”

From SUNO’s 2009 (yes I’m a little late with this) collection. For a fun video featuring their 2010 resort collection click here. This seems to have been shot in Puerto Rico for some bizarre reason.

“SUNO was formed in 2008 by Max Osterweis after more than a decade of collecting textiles in visits to Kenya. Building a successful and visible company that employs local Kenyan talent, treats workers fairly, and showcases some of Kenya’s artistry could potentially affect positive and lasting social and economic change.

The design and development for SUNO takes place in New York City, employing skilled sample and pattern makers in New York’s Garment district. The patterns and samples and then brought to Kenya where the garments are then artisinally produced in small workshops. The inspiration for this first collection comes from both the women of coastal East Africa and the women of downtown New York.”

From Ephemera Assemblyman: “In the 1980s video cassette technology made it possible for ‘mobile cinema’ operators in Ghana to travel from town to town and village to village creating temporary cinemas. The touring film group would create a theatre by hooking up a TV and VCR onto a portable generator and playing the films for the people to see. In order to promote these showings, artists were hired to paint large posters of the films (usually on used canvas flour sacks). The artists were given the artistic freedom to paint the posters as they desired - often adding elements that weren’t in the actual films, or without even having seen the movies. When the posters were finished they were rolled up and taken on the road (note the heavy damages). The ‘mobile cinema’ began to decline in the mid-nineties due to greater availability of television and video; as a result the painted film posters were substituted for less interesting/artistic posters produced on photocopied paper.”

From Ephemera Assemblyman:

“In the 1980s video cassette technology made it possible for ‘mobile cinema’ operators in Ghana to travel from town to town and village to village creating temporary cinemas. The touring film group would create a theatre by hooking up a TV and VCR onto a portable generator and playing the films for the people to see.

In order to promote these showings, artists were hired to paint large posters of the films (usually on used canvas flour sacks). The artists were given the artistic freedom to paint the posters as they desired - often adding elements that weren’t in the actual films, or without even having seen the movies. When the posters were finished they were rolled up and taken on the road (note the heavy damages). The ‘mobile cinema’ began to decline in the mid-nineties due to greater availability of television and video; as a result the painted film posters were substituted for less interesting/artistic posters produced on photocopied paper.”

Beijing Construction and Engineering Group (BCEG) began building the new Kigali Convention Center in Rwanda last year. The project will take three years to complete and will include a 5-star hotel and “digital museum”. The centerpiece of the new city center will be main concert hall. Designed by German architects Spatial Solutions, the unique shape of the building was inspired by the traditional African hut.

Beijing Construction and Engineering Group (BCEG) began building the new Kigali Convention Center in Rwanda last year. The project will take three years to complete and will include a 5-star hotel and “digital museum”.

The centerpiece of the new city center will be main concert hall. Designed by German architects Spatial Solutions, the unique shape of the building was inspired by the traditional African hut.

This photo is just one of many images available on Africa Knows, a new site launched by Sheila Ochugboju and Joshua Wanyama. “An elephant monument at the Nairobi National Park celebrates the burning of 12 tons of ivory in July 18th, 1989 by the then President Daniel Arap Moi. The event was a gesture against poaching worldwide.” In the words of the curators, the purpose of Africa Knows is to: “…tell a different story about Africa. The Re-branding of Africa. The story everyone knows and yet no one knows. Africa Knows is about the challenges, triumphs, dreams and nightmares of being an African in a 21st century city that is straddling several revolutions at the same time – the technological revolution, the agricultural revolution, a democratic resurgence and a post-colonial identity crisis complicated by old ethnic tensions.”

This photo is just one of many images available on Africa Knows, a new site launched by Sheila Ochugboju and Joshua Wanyama.

“An elephant monument at the Nairobi National Park celebrates the burning of 12 tons of ivory in July 18th, 1989 by the then President Daniel Arap Moi. The event was a gesture against poaching worldwide.”

In the words of the curators, the purpose of Africa Knows is to:

“…tell a different story about Africa. The Re-branding of Africa. The story everyone knows and yet no one knows. Africa Knows is about the challenges, triumphs, dreams and nightmares of being an African in a 21st century city that is straddling several revolutions at the same time – the technological revolution, the agricultural revolution, a democratic resurgence and a post-colonial identity crisis complicated by old ethnic tensions.”

Calling all East and Southern African mobile phone app developers. Chembe Ventures, a company I founded, is sponsoring a competition on Vodafone’s Betavine Social Exchange. The competition is designed to encourage innovative mobile solutions to assist low-income residents in urban communities address a specific or general security problem. One prize of US $ 5,000 will be awarded to the winning entry. * Entrants must be registered as a developer in the Betavine community * Entries need to be written in English * Entries must be designed for deployment in one of the following countries: Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa or Tanzania. Entries must provide solutions under one or more of the following headings: * early warning notifications of criminal activity, violence or other security threats * assistance for families, communities at risk of crime * reducing crime, preventing the spread of violence * location, identification and assistance of victims of violence or crime For more information on how to enter the competition and to read the full brief please visit the Betavine Social Exchange.

Calling all East and Southern African mobile phone app developers.

Chembe Ventures, a company I founded, is sponsoring a competition on Vodafone’s Betavine Social Exchange. The competition is designed to encourage innovative mobile solutions to assist low-income residents in urban communities address a specific or general security problem. One prize of US $ 5,000 will be awarded to the winning entry.

* Entrants must be registered as a developer in the Betavine community

* Entries need to be written in English

* Entries must be designed for deployment in one of the following countries: Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa or Tanzania.

Entries must provide solutions under one or more of the following headings:

* early warning notifications of criminal activity, violence or other security threats

* assistance for families, communities at risk of crime

* reducing crime, preventing the spread of violence

* location, identification and assistance of victims of violence or crime

For more information on how to enter the competition and to read the full brief please visit the Betavine Social Exchange.

Biltong, is cured meat South African style. It’s similar to “beef jerky”, although many biltong aficionados are offended when noobs innocently compare the two. “Biltong is dry cured and not cooked and there are no preservatives. Dry cure means that the biltong has a soft texture when you chew it. Jerky is saturated with preservatives and then cooked at 160F for 6 hours. You may as well eat a piece of cardboard with some flavor in it.” - 1-800-Biltong The UK has strict border control policies when it comes to importing cured meat from outside the EU, so DIY products like the Home Biltong Factory and BiltongBox are designed to “satisfy the cravings for that mouth watering delicacy which is so difficult to get outside South Africa”. While I was surfing for info on Biltong preparation (don’t ask) I came across GiftofAfrica.com, a web shop with a fairly narrow profile. Basically it sells three items, the Biltong Kit, African beads and the above album. Not exactly the long tail. Anyway, I love the album cover but I’m not so sure about some of the remixes. Wishing you all a Happy and Peaceful Christmas wherever you are.

Biltong, is cured meat South African style. It’s similar to “beef jerky”, although many biltong aficionados are offended when noobs innocently compare the two.

“Biltong is dry cured and not cooked and there are no preservatives. Dry cure means that the biltong has a soft texture when you chew it. Jerky is saturated with preservatives and then cooked at 160F for 6 hours. You may as well eat a piece of cardboard with some flavor in it.” - 1-800-Biltong

The UK has strict border control policies when it comes to importing cured meat from outside the EU, so DIY products like the Home Biltong Factory and BiltongBox are designed to “satisfy the cravings for that mouth watering delicacy which is so difficult to get outside South Africa”.

While I was surfing for info on Biltong preparation (don’t ask) I came across GiftofAfrica.com, a web shop with a fairly narrow profile. Basically it sells three items, the Biltong Kit, African beads and the above album. Not exactly the long tail.

Anyway, I love the album cover but I’m not so sure about some of the remixes.

Wishing you all a Happy and Peaceful Christmas wherever you are.

“Zimbabwean Finance minister Tendai Biti said the economy would grow by 7% next year, after 10 years of sharp contraction. He said growth would come from key sectors such as agriculture and mining. Zimbabwe’s biggest economic problem, stratospheric inflation, has been all but halted since hard currencies, such as the US dollar, were allowed. ” - BBC

When I started blogging/tumbling a little over a year ago, one of the first posts I wrote was about the Sapeurs of Brazzaville, young Congolese men who live in abject poverty, but beg, borrow and steal in order to dress themselves in immaculate Gucci loafers and 5,000-dollar Prada suits. Well, I’ve been neglecting my tumblog recently, as I’ve been rather busy with Chembe Ventures. A few nights ago I checked the Google Analytics stats for Africafeed.com and noticed that in the first week of December I was getting over 1,500 unique visitors a day, more than 5 times, ok, ok, more than 20 times the usual daily traffic. It turns out that at the end of last month, the Freakonomics bloggers at the New York Times linked to that old blog post when they wrote about Dan Ariely’s advice on how to “splurge less”; for example by “equating expensive wine with gallons of milk and making paying hurt a little more”. An example was made of the poor Sapeurs who “lament they didn’t see their Prada suits as houses for their families.” In any event it’s great to see more people mentioning the Sapeurs. I suppose it was only a matter of time before the inevitable arrival of the first coffee table book on the subject. Enter Gentlemen of Bacongo by Daniele Tamagni, published by Trolley Books of London.

When I started blogging/tumbling a little over a year ago, one of the first posts I wrote was about the Sapeurs of Brazzaville, young Congolese men who live in abject poverty, but beg, borrow and steal in order to dress themselves in immaculate Gucci loafers and 5,000-dollar Prada suits.

Well, I’ve been neglecting my tumblog recently, as I’ve been rather busy with Chembe Ventures. A few nights ago I checked the Google Analytics stats for Africafeed.com and noticed that in the first week of December I was getting over 1,500 unique visitors a day, more than 5 times, ok, ok, more than 20 times the usual daily traffic.

It turns out that at the end of last month, the Freakonomics bloggers at the New York Times linked to that old blog post when they wrote about Dan Ariely’s advice on how to “splurge less”; for example by “equating expensive wine with gallons of milk and making paying hurt a little more”. An example was made of the poor Sapeurs who “lament they didn’t see their Prada suits as houses for their families.”

In any event it’s great to see more people mentioning the Sapeurs. I suppose it was only a matter of time before the inevitable arrival of the first coffee table book on the subject. Enter Gentlemen of Bacongo by Daniele Tamagni, published by Trolley Books of London.

Bill Zimmerman is the founder of Limbe Labs,

“a unique community / collaboration space in Cameroon for startups, freelancers, designers, entrepreneurs (esp. internet entrepreneurs) and independent thinkers. Limbe Labs provides not only a great space to work but also opportunities to interact with other like-minded individuals.”

Bill also writes one of my favourite Afritech blogs, in which he “shares with others my daily experience as a technologist working in the Republic of Cameroon.”

During a recent trip to a local agricultutral show he met Lekuama Ketuafor, “the proprietor of Bamboo Magic, a one-man cottage industry he’s started to supplement his work as a teacher.” Check out the video above to see Mr Ketuafor’s cool bamboo laptop case.

A visualization of the decline of the British, French, Spanish and Portuguese maritime empires, created by Pedro M Cruz “with soft bodies using toxi’s verlet springs”. HT to @ckreutz via @kabissa.

It was a joy to watch the crescendo of exploding bodies in the 1960s. More than 30 “blobs of independence” (20 of them African) floating across the screen as 1960 turned into 1964. The unique manner in which the data is displayed reminds me of Hans Rosling’s famous TED talks.

The book above was mentioned by @Sociolingo in a recent blog post on Sand Divination in Mali. The following passage is from Chapter 7. Disclaimer: The links to external sites are my own additions.

“My introduction to Cedena, or sand divination, took place in Dakar, Senegal, where the local Islamic culture credits the Bamana (also known as “Bambara”) with a potent pagan mysticism. Almost all diviners had some kind of physical deformity — “the price paid for their power.” One diviner seemed quite willing to teach me about the system, suggesting that it “would be just like school.”The first few sessions went smoothly, with the diviner showing me a symbolic code in which each symbol, represented by a set of four vertical dashed lines drawn in the sand, stood for some archetypical concept (travel, desire, health, etc.) with which he assembled narratives about the future. But when I finally asked how he derived the symbols — in particular the meaning of some patterns drawn prior to the symbol writing — they all laughed at me and shook their heads.”That’s the secret!” My offers of increasingly high payments were met with disinterest. Finally, I tried to explain the social significance of cross-cultural mathematics. I happened to have a copy of Linda Garcia’s Fractal Explorer with me, and began by showing a graph of the Cantor set, explaining its recursive construction. The head diviner, with an expression of excitement, suddenly stopped me, snapped the book shut and said “show him what he wants!”

The book can be purchased at Amazon. For those of you who would like to delve further there’s the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics and yes, of course there’s the obligatory TED talk.