Guinea

Artist: Mohamed Nana Kaba

* 1965 in Kankan (Upper Guinea)

Sculptor and painter, lives in Berlin since 1998

mnkaba@onlinehome.de

Interpretation

It is my intention to describe three aspects of Guinea:

Water

Guinea has rich water resources. The sources of all West African rivers are in Guinea. You could say that it's a West African "chateau d'eau". A big environmental problem is the increasing accumulation of sand in the riverbeds. Throughout Africa this leads to drought in the dry season and floods in the rainy season. Together with the inhabitants of the villages along the rivers of Guinea alternatives for the too intensive cutting of firewood will have to be found.

Soil

The soil is very fertile.

There are lots of forests - one region is even called "Guinee forestier". Agriculture - during colonial times Guinea was the first banana and pineapple exporter in the whole world. You can also find: oranges, mangos, avocados, coffee beans, cocoa, peanuts, potatoes, maniok, rice and sweetcorn.

People

Life in the villages is still very primitive - no electricity and water supply. The women get the water from the river or sidearms of the river. The people wash themselves and their clothes in the same river. Because of the heat they don't wear any superfluous clothes or shoes. The village clay huts with their grass roofs are pleasantly cool.

Mohamed Nana Kaba