Some weeks ago, I was the guest editor of Stockholm Resilience Centre’s Instagram account under the hashtag #SRCFieldwork. Every week, a master’s or PhD student or researcher at the center posts photos and tells stories from their fieldwork experiences. The idea is to give some insight into the work behind the research and also shareContinue reading “Sahelian stories: A young researcher trying out social media”
Tag Archives: West Africa
when the rains come to Sahel (late April)
Rainy season was just about to start when we left Zebilla in northern Ghana. The first drops of rain fell on our very last day in the field. Oh, the drama. You can’t miss the rain’s arrival to the Sahel (although, strictly speaking, Zebilla is slightly south of the proper semi-desert). It is like theContinue reading “when the rains come to Sahel (late April)”
the baobab fruit (mid-April)
It is a tree like no other, the baobab. A symbol for the African savanna, with its massive trunk and flaky crown. In Burkina Faso, they harvest the baobab leaves, dry them and put as flavoring into soups. The fruits, however, had until quite recently been completely unchartered territory to me. One afternoon in Zebilla,Continue reading “the baobab fruit (mid-April)”
a West African interpretation of street art
I guess it depends on your definition of street art. If it’s enough to be art appearing in urban spaces, on walls and pavements. Or if there has to be an element of illegality in it too. in that case, these political messages on the walls in Monrovia couldn’t me called street art. They wereContinue reading “a West African interpretation of street art”
living large in Liberia (March 30)
Like most cities in Africa, Monrovia is a place of enormous contrasts. The extravagance of its upper class isn’t as evident in the architecture as in many other places, but it is hidden right under the surface of the densely city. After our days in the rain forest and in small fishing villages, mom wantedContinue reading “living large in Liberia (March 30)”
time after the apocalypse
During my week in Liberia, I was reading a book about a world after the big disaster. “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel takes place in a world after the Georgian flu has wiped out the majority of the human race, and with that, civilization as we know it. In a fluid narrative meanderingContinue reading “time after the apocalypse”
to the rangers of Sapo (March 26-27)
On our jungle hike in Sapo National Park, we had a group of rangers with us. Solemn men who had grown up in the Sapo village, equipped with machetes and the jungle in their blood. The head ranger, Augustin, didn’t talk much. He was patient. His writing skills were quite rudimentary. But when asked, heContinue reading “to the rangers of Sapo (March 26-27)”
a brief introduction to Sapo National Park
Sapo is Liberia’s only National Park, established in 1983. The park is 1,804 km2 and situated in Sinoe County, in the central-eastern part of Liberia. It is the second largest area of tropical primary rainforest in West Africa, after Taï National Park, which is situated just across the border in Côte d’Ivoire. There are plans toContinue reading “a brief introduction to Sapo National Park”
when the world comes knocking on your door
Today, I’m angry at the world. Yesterday, a group of Islamist militants walked into a hotel and a nearby restaurant in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and took everyone inside hostage. Security forces managed to demobilize the situation and free the hostages, but before that 26 people were killed, several were wounded, the hotel and restaurant were set on fire.Continue reading “when the world comes knocking on your door”
the jungle of West African statistics
I’m cleaning data. Tracing changes to Ghana’s district divisions, trying to make different datasets match. Data collected by different ministries is not always consistent, district names are spelled differently, districts having been split means data collected at different times needs to be merged. Having several spreadsheets and a GIS open at once on my two screens,Continue reading “the jungle of West African statistics”
Katja Malmborg 