Sunday, October 01, 2006

NGO Tagaste and The Nomad Foundation: a possible partnership






On September 12, in the mud city of Agadez, at the doors of the great Sahara desert, Youssouf and Ingrid of NGO Tagaste, had a meeting with Leslie Clark and Sidi Mohamed Mamane Illo, from the Nomad Foundation.

Leslie Clark, founder of the Nomad Foundation, is an artist whose career has always incuded travel.

The Nomad Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of artistic and cultural traditions. Helping people support themselves using skills they already possess. Starting with cultural exchanges bringing African musicians to the US to increase awareness of the beauty of the music and art forms. The foundation has always tried to work with the local population to decide what it is they need and want to improve their lives. Today the projects include nomadic schools, wells, women's co-operatives, microcredit, cereal banks, health and nutritional issues for people and animals.

Sidi Mamane is the Nomad Foundation representative in Niger. He is the elected councillor for the Ingall region which is the most important region of nomadic people. He is the director of Nomad Expeditions, the Niger arm of Nomad Adventures and a founding member and president of the Agadez Rotary Club.

Talks turned around the general situation of the Fulani and Tuareg nomads of Niger and specific projects of both structures were discussed.

NGO Tagaste and the Nomad Foundation are considering a partnership to develop the commercialization of sheep by the women’s groups of the village of Tamaya.

Please visit The Nomad Foundation's website:

http://www.nomadfoundation.org/

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