Bobo-Dioulasso and Bags

The second largest city in Burkina Faso is Bobo-Dioulasso (sounds like it is out of Star Wars). I captured some key areas of interest with my camera. The first is a women's group that makes purses and bags from the plastic sashay bags that litter all of Burkina Faso. They even have a petit room to showcase their designs. Their products are amazing and I have a website but it is sadly in French. The quality is amazing and do not be surprised if some people get some of these bags as presents when I come back to the United Stats. . . hint hint.

Display of bags

Bags and Coin Purses

Pillows and wallets

Little Sashay dolls for display

Behind the building a women cleans the black plastic sasays before they are woven into bags. Talk about recycling.

The fellow female volunteers have a grand old time looking through all of the goodies.

They even have clothes. Yes this is a jacket made out of black bags too

They use looms to weave their products. Brekke checks out their operations

After being washed the black bags are hung out to dry in the sun.

A women sits and knits with plastic

Behind the sashay ladies building is the Grand Mosque of Bobo. It is ancient and made out of mud and so beautiful. Enjoy the photos and it is wood sticking out of the sides of the mosque.

Banfora and Takaladougou

Some photos of my time in Banfora and Amanda Cassady's site Takaladougou in the Cascade region of Burkina Faso.

Yes, you are not seeing things they do have McDonald(s) in Burkina Faso

McDonald's restaurant where you can actually purchase local art.

Adelaide pours out some Jus de Passion, it is sooo yummy and FROZEN. They hand make it every Wednesday from Passion fruit brought up from Cote d'Ivoire.

The outside of McDonald's in Banfora. Banfora is the tourist hub of Burkina Faso so it was easy to find non-African restaurants like McDonalds where you can get some hamburgers and fries and my favorite Egg sandwiches.

One afternoon I went out to Amanda's site and walked for about 5-6 km around en brousse in the hot afternoon sun. We are approaching a small river/swimming hole. Women come to the river to wash clothes and then set them out to dry in the hot sun on the rocks.

Women come to the water source to do their families' laundry and socialize.

Girls doing laundry for hours. My question is why are they not in school or study?

The boys only come over to see the white people. They can be found swimming in the water hole. These boys luckily have pants on most of the others do not.

A very nicely built compound of traditional mud houses that I pass by on my walk.

After our long walk we head out to the Peage (or toll booth) where women sit all day and rush to the bush taxis and buses that stop to pay the toll.

The scene of the women rushing to a bush taxi to sell things as it pauses befor paying the police to pass.

Here comes a bigger bus for the women. Imagine spending your entire day on the side of the road waiting. . . waiting. . . waiting. I only lasted an hour.

Even my friend Amanda gets in there and sells mangoes to the taxi drivers. She is so integrated!

Women stand and wait with their mangoes. Ohhh and they are all selling mangoes, no diversification. They all sell the same things.

Waterfalls and Domes

During my first week of inservice training I had the pleasure to go to the most beautifulest place in Burkina Faso, Karfiguela, home to waterfalls and natural domes that were made thousands of years ago by water.

I am so happy to see green and be on an adventure/vacation

Gwen in front of the grand falls of Karfiguela, this is the dramatic grand waterfall. I hear the best time to view the falls are during the rainy season between June and September.

A close up of the rock formations (Domes) that are about a 2 km hike from the waterfalls. I believe they are the only rock formation of its kind that you can actually hike and climb on in the world.

I was able to capture some amazing views and was somewhat reminded of the American west.

A photo onto the sugar cane fields below in the far distance

I take a breather from hiking to take in the marvelous sight.

After hiking all over the domes we headed back to the waterfalls and started at the top and made our way back down to the base. It was amazing to know that Burkina Faso has such beauty.

Burkinabe swim swim swim in the cascades and enjoy the running water during the hottest season in Burkina Faso.

At the top of the grand waterfall looking down onto to the valley below

My Kids

I thought I would share some photos of the kids that frequent my courtyard and spend hours staring at me and watching what I do. The one great thing is that they do call me Tante (Auntie, name of respect in families) versus TuBabu (foreigner).

Claudia banging and making music in my living room

Do not know why this will not rotate, but Claudia playing with my mobile phone

Fleur and Cynthia, they are sisters that live behind my house. Cynthia asks me everyday for chocolate, which I never have.

Connie

DN

Cynthia the most curious girl

Cynthia will just sit and stare at me for hours and not say a word. She is very outspoken though in her family and I hear her laughing and talking all the time but sadly never with me. I am fine with our silent relationship, haha.

Huit Mars

Huit Mars = 8th of March=International Women's Day

"The full and complete development of the world and the cause of peace requires the maximum participation of women as well as men in all fields." - United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

I headed 25km en brousse to the village of Dolo for huit Mars, a national holiday in Burkina Faso. They actually have a day off of work and school for Women's Day. My Burkinabe counterparts think it is incredible that we do not celebrate huit Mars in the USA. I try to explain to them that in American women and men are equal and that there is no need for a Women's Day in America because EVERYDAY is Women's Day in the US.
A women's group sports this year's pagne design in green

Each women's group dresses up in their groupments pagne design

Women "singing" which is actually just shouting into a microphone with traditional African chants

After the functionaire speak for over an hour women and girls march pass in their groups. These is a group of school girls.

This group had interesting movements for their arms

Other volunteers Matthew and Linda "blend" in with the other Burkinabe in the crowd.

The tent that "important" people sit under to watch the huit Mars festivities

A table of various traditonal Burkinabe foods. Mostly To, yumm