Dear friends and supporters of T160k, I am very sorry to announce that the T160k will be ceasing operations on December 31 of this year. Since our founding as a Washington State Social Purpose Corporation in 2014, we have collected over $25,000 to help our partners in Africa build a better future through cultural projects. …
by Naomi House and Tony Dowler Crowdfunding as a Means, Not an End Fame does not always mean fortune – but the Best musicians realize that it is the people that make the music what it is and that funding them is vital! Melaku Belay, of the internationally renowned Fendika Music Club, in the heart …
by Naomi House The first, best circus in Ethiopia & how they are changing the world, starting at home We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘think globally, act locally’ but very few truly take the steps and do something that has the potential for great, rippling impact like Ethiopia’s very first circus, the Circus Debre Berhan …
by Naomi House “The picture is what remains when we have lost everything” : on preserving Africa’s nearly lost African photography heritage “The picture is what remains when we have lost everything,” and no continent in the past century has had as much interference in its cultural heritage preservation than Africa. Africans have been photographing …
by Stephanie Diakité and Naomi House TECH + CULTURE = SUSTAINABILITY Africa is on the rise economically and African art, music, manuscripts, books and culture are increasingly important to the global culture. This is where CROWDFUNDING comes in! Technology now allows anyone across to globe to FUND the amazing projects and work of Africa’s artists and …
by Naomi House Ethiocolor’s 360° Music Video Revolution In Addis Ababa When I want to know the absolutely best and latest in in African music, African fashion and culture I have been following Okayafrica on Twitter and Facebook! So I was so excited to see yesterday that Okayafrica featured T160K partners, Ethiocolor (who perform at …
by Naomi House Happy International Archives Day to the Heroes of Cultural Preservation! All of us at T160K want to wish a Happy International Archives Day to the heroes of cultural preservation; the archivists, technicians and others in related fields like libraries who do the hard work so that our human heritage is preserved! This …
by Naomi House How Translating Documentaries Into Africa’s Local Languages Preserves Them I was watching a wonderful documentary on my local PBS or Create network channel over the weekend that focused on ecological preservation of communities in Ethiopia and Peru, but noticed something very disconcerting. When the people being interviewed were translated the subtitles said something …
by Naomi House On May 22nd, 2015 SSN Insider named T160K crowdfunding campaign, the Cataloging of the Timbuktu Manuscripts and Dr Abdel Kader Haidara, to their Development Pick List! SSN Insider provides entertainment trade-news aggregation, analysis and insider viewpoints to the Industry’s top decision makers by curating the most important global news and trends of the day “Abdel …
by Naomi House and Tony Dowler A generation of African photographers began documenting their homeland in the late 19th century, but today, those photographs are scattered and endangered. The history of African photography goes back to the 1800’s, but it was in the 1940’s with the availability of inexpensive, easy to use equipment that there …
by Tony Dowler Extremists destroyed their instruments, and these filmmakers captured the story. Super Onze and the tragedy of Timbuktu. The band Super Onze (Super 11) are quite well known in their native country of Mali. Like any Malian band, they still regularly play at weddings and festivals. And these celebrations are a vibrant part …
by Naomi House “So often folks are afraid to put darker hues against darker backdrops because it’s just going to be teeth and eyes,” noted DuVernay, “[but] that’s not necessarily the case — [though] sometimes it is the case and it’s beautiful.” – Ava DuVernay, director in Indiewire I feel quite fortunate to work with …
by Naomi House “Culture is disappearing like wildlife: masks, music, instruments” A few years back one of my friends and I were walking around town and he stopped to take a photograph of the hospital parking lot. So of course I asked him, “why.” He told me that going through his family’s photo albums that …
by Naomi House There was wonderful news this week when it was widely announced that “the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) at Saint John’s University is creating digital records of more than 22,000 rare and historically-significant documents from a library in Timbuktu. The Mamma Haidara Family Library has one of the largest private manuscript …
by Naomi House The work of T160K in Mali with the Mamma Haidara Memorial Library, was recently featured in the Nomos Journal’s “Heritage and the Holy” column by David R. Howell, a Lecturer in Heritage Studies within the History department at the University of South Wales. His core research looks at the impacts of political …
by Naomi House Ethio-jazz lovers coast to coast are turning change into change: gratitude from the musical heart of Addis Ababa How funders from Seattle to NOLA to NYC are making change through Fendika! You’ve heard the phrase before, “small change,” meaning a small amount of money. Well, funders coast to coast across the United States …
par Aïssatou Nobre Analyse des relations Hommes et Femmes dans les projets /prnubogrammes de développement Deuxième partie: la culture et le développement de la série de T160K En partenariat avec L’être humain a la capacité d’opérer des transformations dans sa vie quotidienne. Aussi fait-il chaud ou froid, il cherche à s’abriter ou à se vêtir …
by Naomi House On March 10, 2015 T160K partner and Timbuktu manuscript cataloging project coordinator, Abdel Kader Haidara was interviewed on PBS News Hour by reporter Jeffrey Brown as part of his 3 part series on Mali, Culture at Risk. In visits to Bamako and Timbuktu in Mali, Jeffrey Brown visits and explores the potential wisdom that the rescued …
by Naomi House, MLIS Every so often the average person at home is able to contribute to something of global importance. The large scale cataloging project of the rescued medieval Timbuktu library manuscripts is just such a project! The corpus of Timbuktu comprises over 400,000 manuscripts and dates back for generations, with numerous private libraries that …
by Stephanie Diakite Part One: T160K Culture and Development Series T160K (T160K.org) is all about celebrating culture to drive enduring social change! Photo courtesy of T160K Partner – EDIT Burkina Faso Our unique global community believes that the most sustainable path for this goal is to ensure that culture is integrated in the socioeconomic …
T160K Heroes! We thank YOU for making a difference! Thanks isn’t a big enough word to show our deep appreciation and gratitude to those who have given to one of T160K’s first five projects, the Timbuktu manuscript cataloging project, Circus Debre Berhan, Fendika Music Club, the EDIT Dance School scholarships, and Instruments 4 Africa; so …
by Naomi House Mardi Gras & Filming Tradition from New Orleans to West Africa I live in the Treme in New Orleans right near the old parade routes on Claiborne Avenue. Years ago the city decided to preserve the French Quarter and instead demolished parts of the Treme in order to build a giant overpass …
by Naomi House Music NEEDS a Home! From acclaimed Jazz Musicians, to the dancers & music of Ethiocolor, to the famed Azmaris, storytellers of Ethiopia – all find home IS the Fendika Music Club! Help us give Ethiopian musicians a place to ply their trade and keep this cultural icon open! Fendika is a …
by Naomi House Join THIS Circus! Help Build a Just, Resourceful & Creative Society with Award winning & the 1st Ethiopian Professional Circus, the Circus Debre Berhan Help spread the social message of community, equality, and strength for all! Join this Circus! Circus Debre Berhan combines amazing feats of acrobatic entertainment with messages of …
In Kayes, Mali, a local man rides around the town on a colorful motorcycle, adorned with stickers with a megaphona carrying message of Ebola preparedness: “wash after you work,” “avoid shaking hands,” “we must change our habits.” The man is one of the West Africa griots: storytellers, messengers, and musicians similar to the bards of …
by Naomi House How YOU Can Help this Ethiopian Circus Grow-Grow-GROW! Circus Debre Berhan is less than $4000 away from breaking ground on their new training facility and you can help them build brick by brick with just a small donation! A circus is its people, and Circus Debre Berhan, in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia knows … Continue reading
by Naomi House Eid Mubarak from T160K! Wishing all of our funders, followers & partners across the globe, from Bamako to Addis Ababa to Seattle to Debre Berhan to Ouagadougou to New Orleans to Porto-Novo to Timbuktu and back again, a very Happy Eid!!! Continue reading
by Naomi House In the United States this last Monday in May is Memorial Day, where we remember and honor those who have serve in the military and who lost their lives. But it is also Africa Day, a day commemorating the founding of the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) and “an opportunity to celebrate … Continue reading
by Naomi House and Tony Dowler Africa is a continent of many, many diverse cultural traditions and heritage, but one aspect that unites is the rich tradition of heritage preservation by individuals within their own communities. We have been tagging them on Twitter with the hashtag, #HeritageHero and invite the global community to use this tag … Continue reading
by Naomi House Often we find ourselves at home on the couch, or watching TV in bed, or even browsing the internet at the library when we are supposed to be doing our homework, and we stumble upon a story that touches us, connects with us and yet makes us ask, HOW can we … Continue reading
by Naomi House I love Twitter but I didn’t always understand the power and impact that using Twitter could make on the lives of those in organizations that I support. But as I followed social justice movements and saw people opening up their hearts and pocketbooks in support of causes they found out about through … Continue reading
by Naomi House In Bamako, Mali in a building housing the archival boxes that hold the treasure of Timbuktu, its rescued manuscripts, sit a group of catalogers working at the immensely important task of discerning just what ancient wisdom each tome holds. The rescued, now preserved collection, houses everything from legal documents to mathematics books … Continue reading
by Tony Dowler Militant forces tried to destroy these books. Now they’re becoming weapons of peace. It happened because someone helped. When violent militants took over the city of Timbuktu in 2012, they were set on destroying every trace of the city’s ancient culture. So a courageous band of librarians, archivists, and couriers smuggled these … Continue reading
by Stephanie Diakité and Naomi House “Today, we have a lot of problems, a lot. So, in my opinion, if we take out these manuscripts, the ones about good governance, and translate them, develop them, publicize them, I think that would help us with today’s reality.” – Abdel Kader Haidara, Curator Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library … Continue reading
by Tony Dowler They are Ethiopia’s first professional circus, and they’re fighting stereotypes, supporting women, and combating AIDS. Now YOU can help! In the village of Debre Berhan in Ethiopia, people are gathering for a regular performance of the Circus. The Circus Debre Berhan are an international troupe of acrobats, contortionists, jugglers, and clowns from … Continue reading
by Tony Dowler Every so often, you get a chance to contribute to something of global importance. This is one of those times. The libraries of Timbuktu are a collection of over 400,000 manuscripts handed down in private libraries from generation to generation for over 700 years. These documents contain a record of commerce, poetry, … Continue reading
by Naomi House When militants came to Mali and destroyed so much of the nation’s cultural heritage, one member of Super Onze smuggled his instrument out. “My father made this Ngoni for me. I did everything I could to smuggle it out and bring it here.” But every single other instrument was broken. It is … Continue reading
by Aïssatou Nobre Analysis of the relationship between Men and Women in development projects / programs Part Two: T160K Culture and Development Series In partnership with Human beings have the ability to make changes in their daily lives. Whether it is it hot or cold, they seek shelter or dress accordingly. If they are hungry, … Continue reading
by Tony Dowler One brave filmmaker and his team captured this heartbreaking story of African musicians coping in a time of war. The band Super Onze (Super 11) are quite well known in their native country of Mali. But like any Malian band, they still regularly play at weddings and festivals. And these celebrations are … Continue reading
by Naomi House I love my neighborhoods in New Orleans. Yesterday I was taking a walk and I noticed a silver Airstream trailer on a field next to Doerr Furniture. The group was still setting up so I decided to come back that way at the end of my walk. As I approached I realized … Continue reading
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