Long time friends of Addict Lawrence Williams and James English started up the
Makasutu Culture Forest in The Gambia in 1999. Now, two very good friends of theirs are about to embark on a mission to circumnavigate the entirety of The Gambia on foot to over the following weeks, and guess what? They're going to be using
Addict X Vango tents!
Now then, here’s a project for you: to circumnavigate the entirety of The Gambia on foot – all 700 miles of it – carrying your own gear, and capturing audio footage and images of people’s lives as pass through, creating a living account of a unique culture. As you go you’ll pass on knowledge gleaned from the Eden Project hive-mind on how to produce and sustain crop and vegetable growing gardens which will provide food for generations. Oh, and you’ll also need to maintain a multi-media website and blog on the move, both of which will be left behind as a legacy for the people of The Gambia to celebrate their history and their bright future. Any takers?
Jason Florio is a world renowned photographer, chronicler of far-flung places, and member of the Royal Geographical Society. To date he has worked across the globe from Surinam to Afghanistan and had run-ins (and tea) with both the Taliban and the mujahadeen. He fell in love with The Gambia 13 years ago on a visit to Makasutu and has been back every year chronicling the changing lives of the country and its people. His stunning photographs, collected over the last 13 years (some of which we are proud to be able to feature in the interview below) were collected in a book simply called Makasutu, published this year.
Helen Jones has been visiting The Gambia for about 14 years, and has equal passion and reverence for the country and its people. As massage therapist and nutrition adviser by day, Helen has made various trips to the country studying and working with the local people. She has also worked on various photography assignments across the globe and worked with Jason on the Makasutu project wherein this admirable (and mildly unhinged) project was dreamed up.
Jason and Helen will be undertaking the trip with two Gambian locals – Abdouli Janneh and Mohammed Nije – both of whom are experts on the the country’s history and culture and are fluent in various tribal languages the team will encounter, including Jola, Mandinka and Wolof. Janneh and Nije will act as guides and translators and will also assist with the audio recordings and the upkeep of the websites.
So there we are: a 700 mile walk around The Gambia. Sounds easy doesn’t it… To keep up with the preparations for the trip, and all importantly to donate towards the project, you can visit the team’s blog:
A Short Walk in the Gambian Bush, or go to to the Gardens for Life section of the Eden Project website.
