kachile

It has now been several weeks since the World Cup finished, and we have arrived back to our normal working life and our agenda is no longer determined by which match we are going to watch today. So let's just remind ourselves of what the feeling was like when the whole world was watching South Africa and which legendary matches were fought in the stadiums there - but from our perspective here in Grand-Bassam, Côte d'Ivoire.

Never was the Ivorian football team stronger for a World Cup than this time. Seen as one of Africa's best teams ever, Africans right across the continent were keen on seeing "the Elephants" play against their three opponents of the group stage. But already at this stage the challenge was enormous: two of the opponents were the favorites Portugal, with its outstanding Christiano Ronaldo in an already outstanding team, and Brazil, the all-time great soccer nation.

Nevertheless, Côte d'Ivoire showed in their first match against Portugal that the both sides ignited fear in the other. The game was tough for both, and proved the Elephants' prowess against a team so highly placed in the FIFA ranking. However in ending this match with a tie, the situation become fierce for Cote d'Ivoire since for the other two group matches, they had to make at least one more draw and achieve one win in order to reach the Round of 16. Brazil being the next opponent meant the Elephants´ obstacle couldn't have been a greater struggle than facing the Latin American giants.



When Côte d'Ivoire met Brazil, was the most anticipated match of the whole first round in Africa.
It was thrilling to see the Elephants excel on the pitch and everyone on the streets of Grand-Bassam (we were of course amid the energetic crowds) stood by a television hoping for a victory but five-times world champions Brazil showed quite soon that no one should underestimate them. There were many brilliant goal chances on both sides but only the Brazilians managed to score three of them. Nevertheless, the Ivorian team prooved endurance so that in the 79' minute, Didier Drogba, one of the biggest idols in Côte d'Ivoire, scored the well-deserved 3:1.

After this defeat, the chances for the Elephants to continue in the World Cup 2010 were very weak. With only one game to play for each team, there had to be the Brazilians beating the Portuguese, the Ivorians beating the North Koreans and also they had to beat them higher than when the Portuguese play against them the day before. Only then could Ivory Coast have the decisive second place of the list. But with Portugal finishing in a tie against Brazil, this small chance was not to become reality. The last game for the Elephants in this World Cup was against North Korea - which ended with a clear 3:0 victory.



Given the so young history of the Ivory Coast in playing for the World Cup (after 2006, this was the second time for them) they have shown the world their potential. The team definitely has world-class potential but fortune wasn't on their side in being placed in the ´Group of Death' for the second time. The team, consisting of high-class single players, worked well together and they can be - together with its experienced coach Sven-Goran Eriksson - satisfied having played almost at eye level against two of the best teams in the world. But more importantly, it sparked off the desire to go further and achieve more. For my part I am sure that we will hear a lot from the Elephants in the future.

In the following course of the World Cup, Grand-Bassam's hope and supporter dedication counted on Ghana, the "Black Stars". We saw their great strength and dedication in the match against Germany (although ending in a 0:1 defeat for the Black Stars) and were convinced that they could make it very far. Being the only African team, out of six who reached South Africa 2010, to get to the Round of 16, the whole of Africa had their eyes on them and their support behind them.

After their victory over the USA (2:1), their next opponent in the Quarter-Finals was Uruguay - an opponent which would become Africa's worst nightmare in a legendary match held on July 02 2010. After a goal for Ghana in the first round and another goal for Uruguay in the second round the match became more and more tense and impassioned the longer it wore on. In the 30 minutes overtime - both teams being exhausted yet fighting hard - each side wasted many good chances but in the last seconds of the 119' minute were some of the most dramatic scenes in the whole World Cup 2010: a 100%-sure goal shot by Asamoah Gyan was stopped just centimetres before the line by handplay of defender Luis Suarez! The Latin trait of the 'mano de dios' struck again, and pained every Ghanaian heart, the injustice and unsportsmanship angered all of Africa.

The referee then could have decided to pass it as a goal but he decided for a penalty. It was the last chance for Ghana to win the game before moving into penalties; but the usually so secure penalty striker Asamoah Gyan then hit the ball to the crossbar - the people here in Grand-Bassam watching the game couldn't believe their eyes to what was happening there. Aghhh, twice in one minutes had Ghana missed out on their winning goal - how?

In the following penalty round, the Uruguaian team prooved to deliver more goal accuracy so that they could win the game with 4:2. The World Cup ended for Ghana in perhaps the cruelest way...

...but in the end, that's football.

The last minutes on the plane I kept checking my watch when it would be time to land in Abidjan. I stared at my watch every 5 seconds and finally…landed. After passing the passport control, every new intern is picked up at the airport.

With every new intern arriving, Bassam’s white population is fast rising. That is why when going out on the streets you have to get used to the glances from the Bassamois people and the children incessantly shouting “La Blanche, La Blanche”. Listening to conversations about how white and foreign you are is a situation all seven of the new interns experienced within our first days in Côte d’Ivoire. Some of the children even come to us and want to touch our skin; others follow us and want to be our friends. Europe and the USA are an Eldorado that they dream of, bombarded by images of Western beauty Ivorian women, and some men, regularly whitening their skin with special whitening lotions. This is just one of the many differences between the Ivorian and the European cultures, which we all got to know in our first few days.

Everyone is aware of the fact that Europeans, especially Germans, are crazy about punctuality, good timekeeping, being properly structured, and of course organized. Once as German is in Africa they should be less meticulous about time and about constantly checking their watches.

The phrase “Europeans have watches, Africans have time” can be experienced in everyday life here. The people here do not wear watches and you will almost never find a clock hanging on the wall. Of course you can make appointments and meet somebody at a certain time, but the understanding of punctuality is so far removed from our European interpretation. Often the circumstances just do not allow you to be on time. There is no bus schedule, the taxi-driver might choose another route, you get into a traffic jam, or some streets are flooded with water. But no worries as by the time you arrive you are welcomed most warmly and the lateness and any waiting seems to be instantly forgotten. One of the most charming characteristics of people here is the time, patience, and care they all show onto one another.



We have watches, but Africans have time…

Drum sounds, singing men and women, Alpha Blondy and smiling faces are all typical of a night out in Bassam. Beside the variety of African and especially Ivorian music, traditional dance belongs to the Ivorian culture just as carrying goods on the head.

Due to sixty different ethnic groups, Côte d’Ivoire is a melting pot of many differing ethnicities and cultures all having their own type of dance and music.

Whenever you spend an Ivorian night out you will be impressed by drum sounds and singing or dancing Ivorians, which all seem to be carefree, happy and ready to move.



Of all the instruments in Côte d’Ivoire, the male or female voice is probably the one most used . Still, the drum represents the base for most songs and dancing nights. Drumming represents an underlying beat and for many it represents a life force to move and dance to: can be seen as the sign of life for most West Africans. Playing the drum might look easy but once you have tried it you will recognize that we, the Europeans, lack a certain rhythmic sensitivity that hampers us to play drums properly. Therefore a European’s first drum-playing attempts will end up in African laughter and a lot of fun. Playing the drum is mostly combined with a lot of emotions and brings together people who all feel as being one whenever they sit together, sing and play to the same drum beat.

Drum sounds will quickly lead to dance and there will indeed be no West African night without dancing! The different dance moves differ between men and women: whereas men move in an expressive way, jumping around, shaking their bodies, leaping and posing, women rather use a set of choreographed movements. Still, for both men and women, the buttocks seem to be the center of all dances. Shaking the bottom up and down represents the person’s ability of dancing and whenever somebody is dancing right in front of you, you will be astonished how fast a bottom can be moved! Incredible!

Most of the dances are held in a circle. People are standing next to each other and one musician or solo dancer after the other is moving into the circle showing off his or her moves. These solo dance displays in Côte d’Ivoire really are delightful, with great talent on show. Whenever they start dancing, they seem to dip into their own new world. They start shaking their legs, their bottom and their arms as quickly as possible and the whole movement is alligned to the thumping drum sounds which leads to an extraordinary and amazing dance. Even the children seem to be born with a lot of rhythm. Walking through the streets you will quickly notice little kids slightly moving their body to smooth reggae rhythms coming from maquis, taxis or other places.

In West Africa three modern dance types are existent: Coupé Décalé, Mapouka and Zouglou. Coupé Décalé has its origin in Côte d’Ivoire and in the Ivorian diaspora in Paris. It is a mix of Zouglou and Congolese rhythms which is slightly similar to what we call Pop music. You mostly find minimalistic, percussive and repetitive rhythms in this kind of music. Dancing to Coupé Décalé is far more than minimalistic: people are shaking their legs and bottoms simulatenously to their heads and mostly every other part of their body.



Mapouka or Macouka is a traditional dance which you can see during religious ceremonies. It is often called “La danse du fessier” (“dance of the behind”) which is probably due to the bottom-shaking movements. Most of the Mapouka choreographies are sexually suggestive: women are shaking their buttocks, erotic hip movements, turning their bottom to the audience. Unsurprisingly for country with a third of its population following Islam this type of dance was forbidden by the State from 1998. Nevertheless, today especially in Sub Sahara and Francophone communities, Mapouka is growing in popularity.

West African dance is, just like West African music, a means to get everybody moving. Seeing West Africans dancing is hugely entertaining and makes your stay into something special. Whenever one can see people dancing, either in front of the mirror, in a circle or on stage is as impressive as an elephant doing the mambo (quotation Florian). Although we, as Europeans, might be speechless seeing Ivorians dance, they, also, would like to learn how Europeans dance. Still, this might be a bit difficult for them since they just cannot understand how we just dance without having a choreography or a cultural definition in mind.

How to get the best food in Côte d’Ivoire? Do not even dare to go into high class restaurants if Maquis are in every street. Maquis are popular West African restaurants which first began in the early 1950s and belong to the Ivory Coast’s informal sector. On the whole, it was all about selling “viande de brousse” (bush-meat), such as “Agouti” which is a big rat and local alcohol such as gin. Over time these restaurants really became the source of good food and developed their own specialities which compete with the high-class restaurants.

You mostly find Maquis in the street where people can sit down, have a drink, watch TV, or listen to local music. These restaurants are strongly integrated into West African culture, all offering a variety of traditional African dishes and drinks at a reasonable price. Originally these Maquis were based on around the idea of exchanging ideas on how to best cook ‘agouti’ rat.

Like a community hub maquis, like pubs in Europe, bring people together and are a favored spot for family gatherings. The women administering these little cantines earn additional money to increase the family’s budget. Maquis are administered in a traditional way handing over leadership from generation to generation and form of. Recession from the late 1980s, which ended the Ivorian miracle, also increased the success of Maquis enormously with people having less disposible income and having to choose cheaper options. Today Maquis represent a place of fun, good prices, tasty food and a hell of a lot Ivorian gossip and good times.

Today you find every type of person eating and drinking at Maquis, ranging from the ordinary worker to real businesspeople all suited up. Often housed under a bamboo roof maquis offer a variety of meals. Either rice, attieké (similar to couscous), fufu (a thick paste consisting of ripe plantain and yams) are served as accompagnements to three or four different types of sauce: aubergine, or peanut sauce, sauce graine(a hot sauce made of palm oil), or sauce djoumgbré/sauce gombo (with a base of Okra) all topped with either ‘poulet’ (chicken) or ‘poisson’ (fish). Be careful, since most of the dishes are cooked with firey spices, visitors not used to chillipeppar will be left open-mouthed after biting into one.

Another national dish found on almost every street is alloco. This is a dish prepared with ripe plantain bananas. The plantain is fried in a pot of palm oil and chilli. Served with spices it will again lead to sweaty foreheads and a running nose.

Beyond simple maquis, a common feature of street corners is the more humble kiosk. Kiosks are a simple and quick place to fill up. There customers can cheaply enjoy spaghetti with tomato sauce, eggs or even the locals’ favorite pasta accompagnment – kidney. In these informal spots, many people take a quick coffee or just a simple ‘baguette avec omelette’ at a low cost.

Taking a look on the streets surrounded by foodstalls you will remark that vegetarians might have a tough time in Côte d’Ivoire since people seem to be crazy about chicken, fish or other meats, unless you might be lucky enough to find a ‘salad lady’. Fresh salads are not typical, but dotted around larger villages and towns such as Bassam there are few salad stalls selling salads made of avocados, lettuce, tomatoes (but tiny bits, as they are out of season and expensive right now), cucumbers, potatoes and surprise, surprise: chicken.

In case you feel extremely hungry (a rare feeling in Africa due to the big portions),it’s best to go out when it’s getting dark and order delicious local food at local foodstalls or maquis and enjoy the food with a cool beer, Castel or Flag, eating with your (right) hand while listening to African music. The maquis atmosphere is relaxed and fun, but so is the attitude of the staff there – be prepared for a long chat at your table while you wait for the food to arrive. Maquis are a lot slow in serving food compared to European restaurants, so you might consider taking their number, calling them before to order your personal food. Bon appetit!

You might have a certain image of Africans sitting on the beach drinking cocoa milk from a coconut and playing drums. Well, this kind of image is not that far fetched from what really happens down here in Grand-Bassam. So far I went to three clubs and two bars which are located in the same street. Although a small city of about 70,000 people, Bassam still boasts a whole street of clubs and pubs, or clubs and maquis as they call the latter. Rue de Congo is alive and kicking every night of the week, but on Friday and Saturday the beats are pumping, the drums thumping as people get all dressed up for a night on the tiles, or a dance in the sand.

Rue Congo’s largest club is No Limit, one of the biggest clubs in West Africa. I got quickly used to to Africans dancing in front of many mirrors checking themselves out and even flirting through them. This grand air conditioned club with an explosion of neon and lasers seems to be a bit out of place considering the fact that it is a gianormous red cube surrounded by little maquis (local restaurants) and people selling local food on make shift tables on the street.



No Limit is not that different from European clubs : people are dancing to Beyoncé, the Black Eyed Peas and Sean Paul drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. But, at one point during your night out you feel like being in and experiencing Africa: especially when you start hearing Djembé drum sounds and happy African lyrics. Soon, local people will start running onto the dancefloor shaking their hips to African sounds which will leave no (European) leg untouched. Although the No Limit club seems to have a lot of potential since it is big and very modern it is far too expensive for local people which leads to an empty dancefloor and an oftentimes less pumping atmosphere.

Another, smaller club which is close to No Limit is Underground, owned by two French guys. In this club you really will have a memorable Ivorian night out. Surrounded by mirrors, locals will try to teach you real African dance moves and shakes. In case you wish to listen to some European music you can easily walk into the little DJ booth and he will be delighted to play the music you wish to listen to. Underground is a fun place which gets everyone to dance (and finally to sweat) and which offers drinks affordable by everyone. Other clubs in Grand Bassam are also: Épilogue and Premium.

In case you are not in the mood of going clubbing you could also spend a fun night in bars, such as the Nephty. These bars really seem to have a competition of “Who will be the loudest bar in Grand-Bassam” since Nephty and the adjacent Joker bar have a constant boombox battle with their speakers outdoing each other in decibells. Still you will quickly get used to loud African music as soon as you sit down in relaxing leather chairs enjoying a Castel beer.

Going out clubbing can really be fun in Grand-Bassam since the local people seem to be addicted to dancing. Further, African music really gets everybody, even those who do not like dancing, on the dancefloor shaking their hips in front of the mirror.

African music, one of the biggest parts of Ivorian culture, is as complex as the 6 time delayed Presidential election. Not only can you hear Ivorian music in clubs, in taxis and macquis but also hummed by people in the street. It seems as if the music never stops and even a moment of quiteness does not exist since somewhere in Grand-Bassam or Abidjan somebody will be singing an African song. Although Ivorian music is based on traditional rhythms such as Djembé, these are most likely being mixed with newer and more popular styles, such as funk, soul, hip hop and even gospel. The most given types of music in Côte d’Ivoire belong to Zougoulu rhythm or traditional reggae sounds and also religious lyrics are existent in a large part of Ivorian songs.

Abidjan on the other hand seems to be a melting pot of different types of music: music from most of the surrounding countries such as Guinea, Burkina, Mali and Cameroon are being played in clubs in Abidjan besides traditional iIvorian music, such as Dioula and Baoulé.
The majority of the rhythms you might hear in Grand-Bassam and other places belongs to the Jazz and Reggae genres. The bands will be mixed, female as well as male singers and instrument players, will get the crowd to dance using trumpets, drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, the keyboard and other percussion instruments that will put you in a happy mood. Although there are not many popular musicians coming from Grand-Bassam, the Ivory Coast itself does have a lot of talented musicians who are even popular abroad, such as Ismail Isaac, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Alpha Blondie or Gnahouette. In Grand-Bassam you will experience a lot of musicians who really have a huge talent although they may just be ordinary people who have never been to a special music school or anything alike.

Putting Côte d’Ivoires music in a more detailed version, Reggae imported from Jamaica, Francophone reggae developed in Côte d’Ivoire, Jazz and Hip Hop need to be clarified. Reggae music is often made up of, as you might remember from music by Bob Marley, very slow constant beat since drums, guitars and the keyboard are all mixed within a constant rhythm that gets everybody dancing. In most Reggae bands the male voice will be accompanied by a female voice and both will mostly sing about peace, ganja, god, fraternity, love and friendship. Reggae music is often used to sing about current topics, as for Côte d’Ivoire you may often hear songs that deal with the revolts up north calling for peace and fraternity. Locals often seem as if they are in trance when they listen to this kind of music. In case they still sit in their chairs they will smoothly bounce their heads, others will run onto the dancefloor jumping around throwing their legs up in the air screaming. The World famous reggae artist Alpha Blondy is Côte d'Ivoire's best known singer, though his music isn't necessarily representative as he has fused elements of other music genres into his sound, namely classic rock guitar, jazz, upbeat pop, and progressive rock.


On the other side there is Jazz music. The elements that make jazz distinctive derive primarily from West African musical sources as taken to the North American continent by slaves, who partially preserved them against all odds in the plantation culture of the American South. These elements are not precisely identifiable because they were not documented—at least not until the mid- to late 19th century, and then only sparsely. Furthermore, black slaves came from diverse West African tribal cultures with distinct musical traditions as mentioned above. A famous band from Congo which is often associated with African Jazz is Grand Kalle and l’African Jazz.

Hip Hop has been popular in Côte d’Ivoire since the mid 1990s and is presented in a form of gangsta-rap-influenced style called rap dogba. Modern gangsta hiphop does not have as large a following as it does in neighbouring Anglophone Ghana. The West Coast beats of Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Eminem, Lloyd Banks etc. are heard, but this culture is rather peripheral. East Coast sounds from the US are hardly heard here, likely due to the preference for French language music or a definite clear catchy beat.

Further it has to be considered that there are more than sixty different ethnic groups in Côte d’Ivoire which all have their own different folk musics. The traditional music often shows a strong level of vocal polyphony which can be seen in Baoulé music. Baoulé are Akan people who represent the largest ethnic group in the Ivory Coast. They are farmers from the southwest of Côte d’Ivoire. Further, ‘talking drums’ are given frequently. The talking drum is the oldest instrument used by West Africans. These drums can be regulated to an extent that it is said the drum ‘talks’, and are found especially among the Appollo, who are also known for their Abissa purification dance. Polyrhythm, another African characteristic, is found throughout Côte d'Ivoire and is especially common in the southwest.In addition to that CI also has Zoblazo music, of which Meiway is the most sold artist. This kind of music originates from Abidjan and was first created in the early 1990s. It is a cosmopolitan popular dance music with simple up-tempo rhythm and high tech instrumentation and contains a mixture of traditional dance rhythms from southern Cote D'Ivoire.

Zouglou is another traditional form of Ivorian music. The modern production that you hear in the clubs was developed in the early 1990s when university students, upset about living conditions on campus, began complaining about problems within society in local languages and french street slang. Zouglou rhythms have an ancient origin, what is heard contemporarily is an electronic studio version of old folk rythms.

Aslast Another type of music from the Ivory Coast, Coupé-Décalé can be named. This type of music is popular dance music and draws heavily from Zouglou and Congolese rhythms, Coupé-Décalé is a very percussive style featuring African samples, deep bass, and repetitive, minimalist arrangements

Talking about popular music, Gbégbé, a Bété rhythm, has been a part of it since Côte d'Ivoire's independence, popularised by Sœurs Comöé and later, Frères Djatys and Sery Simplice. Ernesto Djédjé is considered the father of Ivorian popular music. He can be seen as an advocate, if Ivorian music, railing against the "Congolisation" of the Abidjan scene and plays a type of music called ziglibithy
The Ivorians are greatly touched and moved by their music. Because of their joy and passion for their local sounds you will hear music everywhere.

Another project of Kachile deals with fashion. We are in the preliminary stages of setting up a fashion and design studio for local tailors to produce fashionable clothes for the European and North American markets. Therefore the cuts are designed in a European style but made with typically African fabric, known locally as pagne. Pagne is a wax cloth, whereby the bright patterns are printed on through a process known as Dutching.



At the moment Kachile has 12 designs created by UK designer Katie Wilson. Her creations are currently being tested locally in preparation for producing a complete promotional collection. One of the major hurdles is that the tailors here are not used to these types of cuts; so most of them cannot faithfully realize the clothes as per Katie´s original designs until they get further, detailed sketches from her.

The Kachile team has been to lots of sewing shops to ask what they are capable of tailoring and what they are not. Finally we found a tailor, Monique, who agreed to make one of the dresses for 6,000CFA (aprox. € 9.50). Then Kachile just had to bring her the fabric which we wanted the dress to be made in. At Bassam’s Grand marché we found a large variety of fabrics! It was really hard to decide which fabric could match the dress best. In the end we chose a brownish one with an understated navy pattern as it was one of the more subtle shades that we found amongst all the locally favored bright oranges, lime greens and citrus yellows.

On our way back to the tailor shop, Anne and I spontaneously decided to also get some of Katie’s designed skirts tailored for ourselves as we spotted a beautiful fabric with a small flower pattern, almost like empire style but with a gold fleck running through it. We took the chance and bought it, so now we will have our own African, handmade, unique skirt, tailored exactly to our measurements!

There are nearly 100 tailor shops in Grand Bassam, each one employs 4 to 5 persons on average. 75% of the shops are owned and managed by men, but much more than half of the people working as tailors are women. Before the crisis in 2002 shop owners earned about 125,000CFA (190€) monthly but nowadays it is just roughly 50,000CFA (€76) per month.

The tailors underneath the shop owners earn an even lower salary; their salary depends on their contract but these days with a slow economy, political uncertainty, and lack of spending seamstresses often only bring home 5,000CFA (€8) a month. That is the same amount of money they have to spend monthly on their training which usually endures 3 years. Not everyone is able to open his/her own tailor shop after their training as they do not have the capital ready to rent a shop, pay the bills, and buy sewing machine, which cost between 50,000CFA – 60,000CFA (which equates to €76 - €91).

Monique has her own tailor shop, inherited from her mother, with 3 sewing machines. Her shop functions as a fine finishing school. Monique invested a lot of her family’s private savings to attend and complete formal couture training; she is now passing on those skills as a teacher in her own shop in Bassam’s Rue Mockey. In my opinion, she seems to be talented and reliable which is why I really look forward to seeing the final dress. Maybe she will become one of our future partners for the fashion project then.

The jury of the upcoming 5th annual e-Learning Africa conference has voted on photographs showing ICTs making a daily impact on African lives and African economies. We are happy to inform Kachile’s fans that the jury has voted Kachile’s entry amongst its top ten images.

www.elearning-africa.com/picturevoting_home.php

Kachile’s photo
- will be featured in an exhibition from May 26th – 28th at eLearning Africa 2010 in Lusaka, Zambia
- will be announced and displayed on the eLearning Africa website: http://www.elearning-africa.com/picturevoting_home.php
- will also be part of the next eLearning Africa Newsletter distributed to thousands of people
- will be part of the e-Learning Africa photo book and handed out to high-level conference participants.

We are all very happy that Kachile’s image will be in the conference’s official book and that our good work will be mentioned and displayed at this leading conference on African information technology. It is great for our fans abroad to see the environment Kachile is working in and indeed working to improve.

The guy in the yellow Shevchenko shirt sat at the two computers in the photograph (kachile.livejournal.com/3370.html) is Bassam’s most brilliant hardware engineer – Aka Kissi Antonin. Kissi has given a lot of encouragement to Kachile’s participants and importantly to those in his immediate community. Kissi has recently begun yet another brilliant initiative of delivering classes on Electricity; yesterday his technical team were learning from him how to build PCB boards and remote operating systems. He firmly believes in finding solutions at the community level and encouraging home-grown talent to stay and innovate rather than immigrate. He finds it such a waste when people take their skills to Europe, only to become a security guard or a cleaner when they could be developing their skills at home to better serve outmoded systems. Aka Kissi Antonin lives and works a few hundred metres from the Kachile office, where he conducts his many classes on hardware, electrical repairs, engineering, software; runs a cyber café; repairs computers; cultivates hibiscuses and cacti; and looks after his children who are often stuck to his hip while he goes about his many affairs.

Another partnership that Kachile has affected is with the Centre Artisanal. This organization is home to a large number of Bassamoises artisans, who specialize in bronze, sculpture and batiks. The center was founded in 1971 by Laouchez Louis, an advisor to the National Minister of Tourism and Artisanal Products’, as a ‘Finishing School for Artisans’. Bassam’s Artisanal Center was the second of its kind in Côte d’Ivoire.

Unfortunately in 1980, the government stopped its support and since then Bassam’s Centre Artisanal has been administered and run by the artisans themselves. The Centre Artisanal’s current president is Fofana Nifo, who has successfully made the center one of the most important places for Ivorian artisans. Amongst his achievements is Bassam’s, Artisanal Center’s nomination as head office of the CRP (Centre Ressource Professionnel de la Côte d’Ivoire) – an organization which aims to unite Artisans from all over Côte d’Ivoire.

The Kachile founder Ulf Richter received his Doctorate in Economic Sciences from the University of Lausanne in 2008. Beside his current work as lecturer at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima and his activities for his foundation, Ulf Richter has published several papers and articles. Among them:

• Fostering Sustainability Entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Pyramid in a Post-Conflict Environment, the Paper was presented at oikos UNDP Young Scholar Development Academy in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in December 2009.
• Sustainability Strategies for the Bottom of the Pyramid - Fostering Entrepreneurship in a Post-Conflict Environment. The Paper got presented at: the 6th Satter Conference of Social Entrepreneurs in New York, USA, 11/2009 as well as at the 8th Annual Colloquium of the European Academy of Business In Society in Barcelona, Spain (09/2009).
• The Impact of Globalization on Emerging Markets – The Case of Côte d’Ivoire, Paper presented at the 1st Public Scholars in Africana Studies International Conference 2009, Indianapolis, IN/USA, 10/2009.
• Sustainability Strategies for the Bottom of the Pyramid in a Post-Conflict Environment – The Potential of E-Commerce in Côte d’Ivoire, Paper presented at the 1st Public Scholars in Africana Studies International Conference 2009, Indianapolis, IN/USA, 10/2009. This Paper got as well published as a book chapter in “Globalization and Sustainable Development in Africa”, edited by Bessie House-Soremekun and Toyin Falola, University of Rochester Press: Rochester, forthcoming.
• Kachile - Concepts, Tools & Strategies for a Post-Conflict Environment, book chapter in “COMMON KNOWLEDGE: Rising to the Challenge of Transdisciplinarity”, edited by Moira Cockell, Jérôme Billotte, Frédéric Darbellay, and Francis Waldvogel, forthcoming.

Find more on Ulf Richter on his official website www.ulfrichter.com

Florian Hoos, doctoratal student at the University of Lausanne, has been honored with the ‘Prix Pralong 2010’. The prize encourages students to devote attention and working projects to development problems around the world. His project comprises the setup of an Ivorian Fashion Brand for Kachile in Grand Bassam.

To find out more about Florian’s project read the attached article or go to www.unil.ch/actu/page42162.html

Doctorant en management, Florian Hoos s'est intéressé à travers la fondation «Kachile», qui travaille sur place, à la production vestimentaire déjà bien ancrée dans la région d'Abidjan, en Côte d'Ivoire. Il récolte en ce moment des fonds auprès de privés et d'entreprises en Suisse afin d'équiper un atelier dans la ville de Grand-Bassam avec des machines à coudre, des tissus et tous les objets nécessaires, et d'engager des designers ivoiriens pour former les personnes de la région au métier de la couture. Florian Hoos se rendra sur place à la fin du mois de juin pour monter ce projet et ramener une petite collection de vêtements «colorés et sexy» qui seront présentés en novembre 2010 lors de la soirée des Gradués HEC. "Le produit de cette vente sera réinvesti dans le projet, explique-t-il. Le but est vraiment de créer une petite entreprise qui sera gérée par les personnes concernées à Grand-Bassam et qui va survivre. Il s'agit de promouvoir la culture de cette région d'Afrique à travers la mode et de vendre les vêtements d'abord en Côte d'Ivoire, avant de songer éventuellement à l'exportation. Mon travail consiste à lancer le mouvement, mais l'histoire de cet atelier appartiendra aux personnes sur place".