Tag Archives: Still Life
Hand Dug Well
Posted on September 05, 2009 by Barak in Africa | No Comments
In areas with shallow (and sometimes not so shallow) ground water, hand dug wells are a an access technology that dates back to the dawn of man. But as ancient and quaint as they may seem, hand dug wells are more or less disease-in-a-pit, especially when dry season concentrates the pathogens living in the well (kind of like reducing a soup to concentrate the flavor). Latrine proximity is also a significant issue – not only because of leeching human waste, but because too often, the pits are dug all the way down to the water table (hey, if you’re going to go to the effort, dig once really big right?). Hand dug wells like this also presents a significant safety issue b/c they are unlined and uncapped. Stories of animals and even children falling down wells are far from uncommon, and well-collapse has caused more than one death.
Chameleon-On-Gouda
Posted on June 09, 2009 by Barak in Africa | No Comments
Sounds like some kind of post-modern art… This was the hunk of Gouda we lugged up Mt. Kenya and this is the chameleon that graced our table the first morning. Chameleons are fascinating and hold a certain nostalgia from my childhood days in West Africa. When going to Daystar University in Kenya, I use to keep one in my mosquito net and feed it moths at night. There are actually about 160 species of chameleon. All of them have eyes that rotate independently, prehensile tails, and tongues that extend out 1 1/2 times their body length. They change colors through specialized skin cells called chromatophores, and more than just camouflage, color reflects emotion and temperature. There is an old tribal story in Sierra Leone of how a race was held by all the jungle animals to determine who would rule them. The chameleon being wise, jumped on the cheetah’s tail. When the cheetah reached the throne and turned to sit down, the chameleon jumped off and thus became the King of the Jungle.
Relic
Posted on February 23, 2009 by Barak in Africa | No Comments
Stumbling across an antique Ford tractor would be fairly blasé in Tennessee. But in northern Kenya it’s rather novel. And apparently functional as well…
Thirst for Education
Posted on September 01, 2008 by Barak in Africa | No Comments
Education is one of the greatest needs in the developing world. But children can’t attend school if they are sick, and health is only a reality in the presence of good nutrition, clean water, and access to healthcare. Children here miss an average of 10 days of school of month due to sickness. Many days they come to class without food and many days the water to the school is dry and thirst forces children to eventually abandon class to go in search of water.
Relic
Posted on February 04, 2008 by Barak in Africa | No Comments
An old 4×4 sitting outside a shop in the backlands of Central African Republic
Tiles
Posted on October 29, 2006 by Barak in Africa | No Comments
“If walls could speak…” These are the tiles that line the floors of the great hotel on Bokor Mountain. I wonder what life they saw at opening day in the 1920 when the French built this posh resort community on the mountain.
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