Sierra Leone Village Accommodation: Cultural Immersion
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Country: Sierra Leone
Price: $20.00 (~£12) per person per day. Services provided by the villagers should be settled individually
Associated activities: Experience life in an African village; stay for a day, night, weekend or week; meet the headman, imam & traditional healer; visit farms; try basket weaving; see palm oil production, wine tapping and fishing; enjoy traditional dances and music; help prepare a local meal; ride in a dug out canoe; walk in the forest; swim in the river; see the local wildlife.
Price: $20.00 (~£12) per person per day. Services provided by the villagers should be settled individually
Associated activities: Experience life in an African village; stay for a day, night, weekend or week; meet the headman, imam & traditional healer; visit farms; try basket weaving; see palm oil production, wine tapping and fishing; enjoy traditional dances and music; help prepare a local meal; ride in a dug out canoe; walk in the forest; swim in the river; see the local wildlife.
What is it?
This village retreat is an initiative by a local to the area who intended to generate interest in rural Sierra Leone, and to educate visitors and local people alike in the importance of traditional values.
Built a little way from the village this accommodation consists of two mud brick houses, each with two twin bedrooms, a living room and bathroom. Facing the houses is the ‘barray’ – an open sided round house offering a shady place to eat, sit and chat.
The village retreat is run by and employs local villagers and is an important source of revenue for the community. Income from assisting visitors and selling local produce and crafts provides a vital addition to the subsistence farming on which most villagers depend. Benefiting from visitors encourages the community to take pride in their heritage and conserve their valuable natural and cultural resources.
Visitors to the retreat experience real Sierra Leonean village life; sleeping in a traditional house, meeting the villagers, eating their food, witnessing their traditions and sharing their daily lives.
Built a little way from the village this accommodation consists of two mud brick houses, each with two twin bedrooms, a living room and bathroom. Facing the houses is the ‘barray’ – an open sided round house offering a shady place to eat, sit and chat.
The village retreat is run by and employs local villagers and is an important source of revenue for the community. Income from assisting visitors and selling local produce and crafts provides a vital addition to the subsistence farming on which most villagers depend. Benefiting from visitors encourages the community to take pride in their heritage and conserve their valuable natural and cultural resources.
Visitors to the retreat experience real Sierra Leonean village life; sleeping in a traditional house, meeting the villagers, eating their food, witnessing their traditions and sharing their daily lives.
The village...
The village is in Kholifa Rowallah Chiefdom in the heart of Tonkolili District in northern Sierra Leone. It lies in a forest bounded on three sides by rivers. Monkeys are frequent visitors and dwarf crocodiles can be found in the nearby swamps. The surrounding area comprises grasslands and boli (flood plain) lands, where rice production is the major activity.
The local population is Temne and the village is predominantly Muslim with a Christian minority. Both religions live harmoniously and families will often be of mixed faith. The village has a small mosque and also a church.
As with the rest of Sierra Leone, the area experiences two seasons, the rainy season from May to October and the dry.
The villagers are mostly farmers although there are other small-scale industries such as basket weaving, bag making, palm oil production and fishing. Cassava, peanuts, cashew nuts, pineapples, maize and sorghum are also grown in addition to rice
The surrounding area offers many attractions. The forests and bush provide opportunities for walks, while the braver of heart may explore the rivers in a dugout canoe. The Bunbuna Falls are a thirty-minute drive away and the Mamunta Mayosso Wildlife Sanctuary and Kangari Hills Forest Reserve are nearby. The former is the first site to be managed as wildlife sanctuary in Sierra Leone and holds 252 species bird species, while the latter is home to chimpanzees, monkeys, antelope, forest elephants and buffalo.
The local population is Temne and the village is predominantly Muslim with a Christian minority. Both religions live harmoniously and families will often be of mixed faith. The village has a small mosque and also a church.
As with the rest of Sierra Leone, the area experiences two seasons, the rainy season from May to October and the dry.
The villagers are mostly farmers although there are other small-scale industries such as basket weaving, bag making, palm oil production and fishing. Cassava, peanuts, cashew nuts, pineapples, maize and sorghum are also grown in addition to rice
The surrounding area offers many attractions. The forests and bush provide opportunities for walks, while the braver of heart may explore the rivers in a dugout canoe. The Bunbuna Falls are a thirty-minute drive away and the Mamunta Mayosso Wildlife Sanctuary and Kangari Hills Forest Reserve are nearby. The former is the first site to be managed as wildlife sanctuary in Sierra Leone and holds 252 species bird species, while the latter is home to chimpanzees, monkeys, antelope, forest elephants and buffalo.
The difference...
This accommodation is designed to benefit the local community in several ways, some direct, some indirect, some short term and some longer term.
Located as it is as the last destination on the road from the nearest large town, which is itself 10 miles away, this is a place that attracts few visitors.
The presence of the retreat has directly resulted in an upsurge of visitors to the village. The project itself provides accommodation only with all other services provided by the villagers, including walking tours, canoe rides, catering, laundry, water provision etc. The costs of these services accrue directly to the villagers.
As well as providing a market for services (many of which would be valueless without the presence of the Retreat), visitors to the Retreat also provide a market for the goods produced in the village - both handicrafts, in the form of woven goods and baskets, and foodstuffs such as country rice, cassava and fruits.
Ten percent of the visitors’ accommodation charge is paid into a village development fund, which supports projects in the village; additionally visitors have made one-off donations to this fund.
Visitors have also expressed interest in assisting the local school, and donations of books, TVs and other items have been made. Several visitors are considering longer term engagements.
A key element of the Retreat is to allow the interaction of peoples of differing cultures and the cross-fertilisation of ideas. The Retreat provides an opportunity for the population of an isolated rural community to gain a greater understanding of the outside world, and vice versa. It is hoped that, by fostering the exchange of cultural understanding, the aims and ambitions of the young people in particular will be raised and encouraged.
Located as it is as the last destination on the road from the nearest large town, which is itself 10 miles away, this is a place that attracts few visitors.
The presence of the retreat has directly resulted in an upsurge of visitors to the village. The project itself provides accommodation only with all other services provided by the villagers, including walking tours, canoe rides, catering, laundry, water provision etc. The costs of these services accrue directly to the villagers.
As well as providing a market for services (many of which would be valueless without the presence of the Retreat), visitors to the Retreat also provide a market for the goods produced in the village - both handicrafts, in the form of woven goods and baskets, and foodstuffs such as country rice, cassava and fruits.
Ten percent of the visitors’ accommodation charge is paid into a village development fund, which supports projects in the village; additionally visitors have made one-off donations to this fund.
Visitors have also expressed interest in assisting the local school, and donations of books, TVs and other items have been made. Several visitors are considering longer term engagements.
A key element of the Retreat is to allow the interaction of peoples of differing cultures and the cross-fertilisation of ideas. The Retreat provides an opportunity for the population of an isolated rural community to gain a greater understanding of the outside world, and vice versa. It is hoped that, by fostering the exchange of cultural understanding, the aims and ambitions of the young people in particular will be raised and encouraged.
Where is it?
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