JOURNEY WITH MAPS
Journey with Maps was an AFO educational mapping project aimed at training both local government members and youth residents in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Named after Graham Greene's brief travels through Sierra Leone and Liberia, and building upon photojournalist Tim Hetherington's efforts, the workshop initiated a digital inventory and archive of Krio and Colonial Hill Station homes. The workshop empowers participants by advocating for the recognition of these historic structures within the official Freetown Structure Plan. It also serves as an intermediary forum, connecting local authorities, ministries, and community youth in Freetown. Lastly, this project seeks to document how these historic structures are not simply relics but living homes, continuously evolving, extended, and shaped by the specific, non-western dynamics of Freetown families.
While not exhaustive, this inventory marks the initial steps to assist the Monument and Relics Commission and Sierra Leone National Museum in preserving these sites. The workshop covers several key components, including GIS and GPS training, participatory mapping, community outreach, and digital map production. An earlier version of this project used social media platforms like Instagram for geo-tagging, allowing the people of Freetown to contribute to the map, with sites verified on the ground by field teams.
This project was funded by the Prince Claus Trust in 2014 and Irish Aid in 2016.
Devries, N. 2017. "Preserving Sierra Leone’s Historical Houses." Al Jazeera English. YouTube video, 2017.
Trenchard, T. 2016. "Part of Sierra Leone’s History Is Being Dismantled Board by Board." The New York Times, January 20, 2016.
While not exhaustive, this inventory marks the initial steps to assist the Monument and Relics Commission and Sierra Leone National Museum in preserving these sites. The workshop covers several key components, including GIS and GPS training, participatory mapping, community outreach, and digital map production. An earlier version of this project used social media platforms like Instagram for geo-tagging, allowing the people of Freetown to contribute to the map, with sites verified on the ground by field teams.
This project was funded by the Prince Claus Trust in 2014 and Irish Aid in 2016.
TEAM
Killian O’Dochartaigh, Isatu Smith, Najmeh Modarres, Sheku Kamara, Tommy E. Kain, Stella Koroma, Ishmail Thullah, James Bawah, Ishmai A. Kamara, Abdulai Kamara, Emile Manley, Michael Convei, Abdullah Juldeh Barrie, Ibrahim Nassir, Robin Jack Kamara, Edmund J Kalawa, Ibrahim Conteh, Abu Kargbo, Josephine Kargbo, Peter King, Senesie and Ali. Additional thanks to Deborah Stolk and Eveline De Weerd (Prince Claus Fund) and Sinead Walshe, John Callaghan and Gibril Kargbo (Irish Aid)PRESS
Journey with Maps." MAS Context, no. 25, "Legacy," 2015, pp. 25–26Devries, N. 2017. "Preserving Sierra Leone’s Historical Houses." Al Jazeera English. YouTube video, 2017.
Trenchard, T. 2016. "Part of Sierra Leone’s History Is Being Dismantled Board by Board." The New York Times, January 20, 2016.
