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Senegal, West Africa
Objectives:
Understanding the Casamance The lower Casamance region of Senegal is working to overcome a separatist movement of 25 years that has crippled economic development, tourism and left thousands of refugees displaced. While the indigenous Diola peoples have a rich animist tradition that mandates their guardianship of local rain forests, they face increased decline in regional food security, exacerbated by deforestation, mono-cropping and a 50% reduction of rainfall over the past 30 years. Since 2001, EW has been collaborating with local partners to assure the survival of this endangered eco-system and mystical culture. Current Initiatives: 1. Casamance Institute of Arts & Sciences 2. EW Music / AMP “African Music Promotion” Project 3. Beyond Fair Trade Senegal / Sustainable Textiles
The Casamance Institute of Arts and Sciences (CIAS) CIAS is an integrative ethno-botany conservation and economic development project called for by local herbalists in 2001. Since then, EW has partnered with several local African non-profits, the National Medical School Pharmacology Dept., and the National Forestry Service to advance a long-term development strategy. By assisting in the consolidation of local knowledge of medicinal plants and networking globally with the private sector in the field of natural medicine, it seeks identify and promote the sale of sustainable cash crops. Additional departments of CIAS will maintain ongoing partnerships between local health clinics and students of the Senegalese national medical school to advance the art of integrative community medicine. CIAS will be the first integrative medical research and cultural center of its kind - combining the preservation of local heritage with sustainable economic and health initiatives.
EW Music -Ethnomusicology Recording Project The extraordinary talent of local musicians is a primary economic opportunity, especially in the culturally rich Casamance. EW Music is an initiative to provide African musicians tools to earn sustainable livelihoods and preserve their cultural heritage. To do this, EW engages volunteer sound engineers and others music industry professionals to assist in album production and marketing. In addition to channeling opportunities back to the musicians, EW is raising funds to build a recording studio where diverse cultural groups from neighboring countries (Mali, Guinea Bissau, the Gambia+) will have access. In response to overwhelming interest by musicians, EW has sponsored 10 groups with the support of volunteer sound engineers and industry leaders. In December, 2007, EW Music (music department of EW) proudly released its first album: Casamance, Music of the Diola early 2007. This compilation CD features the very best of EW recordings made since 2004 and documents the immense variety of musical tradition found in Casamance and the extremely high level of musicianship found even in remote areas. Learn More & See Interview with Artistic Director Tobias Sturmer Beyond Fair Trade Senegal / Women's Dream Shops Economic Empowerment & Business Training West Africa is remarkable for its high-quality, strikingly colored and patterned cloth. In the Casamance this is a promising economic opportunity. Local women use indigo dyes and hand-woven cloths to make beautiful batik and tie-dyed textiles. To keep these traditions alive and foster sustainable livelihoods, EW seeks socially conscious designers and fashion houses in the US and Europe to create sustainable demand. EW knows that for private sector partnerships to be sustained the capacity of Fair Trade cooperatives must also be equipped with skills to survive in a global market. Courses will be given to participants by EW partners (by existing, locally based women’s literacy organizations) to help them manage production of textiles and international marketing to insure long-term self reliance. This project will serve as EW Beyond Fair Trade flagship for products from Senegal. Products may include clothing, hats, and bags. **Participants in EW economic and cultural empowerment projects engage on a voluntary basis and learn to manage their own environmentally and financially sustainable business enterprises. |
Senegal
