Association Donkosira
Diarakendou dry pond (Damaro, Guinea), March 2022
Mandiou Camara speaks: “I am stopped in the middle of the pond. Look, there is no more water left in the pond. Otherwise it used to be a big pond. It is also a pond where we grow crops. You see, farming doesn’t work. One day a gentleman asked us to lend him our land. We told him that agriculture
Tomb of a patriarch, Fono Oussou Camara (Damaro, Guinea), March 2022
We are at the tomb of Fono Oussou Camara, the ancestor of the chiefs and ancestors of Damaro, father of Diaraken and Fakassia, Bossoboy and many others. We are at the tomb of the ancestor of all the Damaro people. This is our history. Everyone must know his history. We are at the tomb of Diarakendou. Thank God, this is
An invented script: the nkan (Damaro Guinea), March 2022
Lansiné Camara, a healer in Damaro, invented an alphabet for himself to write Malinké: his writing is called nkan (it is neither the Latin nor the Arabic alphabet, nor nko), and he names the letters one by one in his notebook. The alphabet has 28 letters. He transcribes all the sounds in Maninka. He writes for example “I am going
Road repair (Bouillagui, Mali), October 2022
During the rainy season there are certain problems in Bouillagui, such as the degradation of roads. In order to find sustainable solutions to this problem, which is due to climate change and the rainfall that degrades some roads, the villagers decided to rebuild the roads. Using stones and gravel, a day’s work was organised to asphalt the roads, which is
The colonial stone road Kerouané / Beyla (Damaro, Guinée), October 2022
This stone-marked road through Diarakendou linked Kerouané to Beyla during the colonial era. It was a path that could be followed on horseback. The stones are still visible today and their alignment is still more or less visible depending on the place. They cross the forest which keeps the memory of this road.
Farabolon, the place of circumcision (Damaro, Guinea), October 2022
This place is called Farabolon. I, who am talking to you now, was circumcised here. This is a place of circumcision. I spent three months here with friends. We slept here, we spent the day here, nobody went back to the village during the whole circumcision period. It was our parents who came to bring us food. The men were
The story of the ‘pregnant’ kapok tree in the Diarakendou forest (Aguibou Sow, CIRD, Damaro, Guinea), February 2022
Mandiou Camara is under the kapok tree of Fatamantou: “Fatamantou is the place where Fataman used to hide. Fataman was a protective genie and that’s where the kapok tree grew. Before, our ancestors came to worship Fataman under this kapok tree by making offerings of chicken, white bread and kola. Fataman fulfilled all their wishes. But since the arrival of
Tambacounda Advocacy Workshop (Senegal), January 2023
From 9 to 12 January 2023, an advocacy workshop organised within the framework of the Watigueleya Kêlé project took place in Tambacounda (Senegal). This workshop brought together delegates from the three Senegalese villages participating in the project (Bandafassi, Missirah Tabadiang, and Wassadou-Dépôt), supervised by the Donkosira team, and the advocacy expert Illia Djadi. The objective of the workshop was to
The crocodile and the monkey, by Amara Camara
Once upon a time there was a monkey and a crocodile who were great friends. They grew up together, they had everything in common. When they reached maturity, the crocodile returned to the water and the monkey stayed on dry land. One day, because of the poverty in the village, the monkey decided to cross the river to look for
The turtle and the hippopotamus, by Amara Camara
Once upon a time, a turtle and a hippopotamus were great friends. They decided to live together in perfect friendship. They lived together for many years and their friendship was legendary until the day the drought came to the village. Because of the drought, the rivers and wells dried up and the village had a water problem. So in the