Friends of African Village Libraries (I post regularly here)- Organisation d’une séance de lecture suivie de discussion
- Organisation de deux séances de lecture et d’une séance de dessin à la bibliothèque de Koumbia
- La lecture au cœur des esprits à la bibliothèque de Koho
- New library assistant at Sumbrungu Community Library
- Echange avec une usagère au Centre de Lecture et d’Études de Béréba
- Community libraries of Uganda association (CoLAU) updates for May 2026
- Sumbrungu community library packed with readers, Upper East, Ghana
- Organisation d’une séance de lecture individuelle à l’école Sainte-Thérèse de Houndé
- Animation littéraire à la bibliothèque de Boni
- Some photos from Bereba reading center
Monthly Archives: June 2013
Remorse… five variations
Not remorse over what I’ve been reading/viewing lately (with one exception, you guess), but rather, sometimes you find the same theme in very different materials… a straight flush this time, actually. To Have and To Have Not. Found it on … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Évaluation des politiques et institutions nationale: Le Burkina classé parmi les meilleurs en 2012
En effet, la dernière édition du rapport CPIA Country Policy and Institutional Assessment de la Banque mondiale, attribue au Burkina Faso une note globale de 4,28, l’une des plus élevées après celles du Rwanda, du Cap Vert et du Kenya.L’évaluation … Continue reading
Not sure I have the whole picture…
Kerfluffle in Burkina Faso over some stolen, smuggled gold, magistrates demand resignation of Minister of Justice…. (and before you think that 23,000 kg is a lot, remember that in French numbers , is a . so it is 23 kg … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Burkina Faso : le tournant politique de 2015 pourra-t-il avoir lieu ?
A decent piece summarizing current political situation leading up to 2015, which will be a very interesting transition for Burkina Faso. Pundits and alarmists will have a field day I am sure. I think the lesson I draw from watching … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
2 Comments
Research Initiative: Test the Impact of a Radio Campaign Addressing Child Mortality
Very interesting research project. The intervention that this research initiative is exploring is a 2.5-year radio campaign that began broadcasting in March 2012. It involves the broadcast of health messages using radio spots (60-second adverts) and radio phone-in programmes (see … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
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There is probably an interesting story here: Mayor of Ouagadougou “fires” all the youth employed at quasi-minimum wage ($75 per month) working as traffic guards (they are really helpful)
Pour le président du conseil municipal de la commune de Ouagadougou, c’est un manque de respect et de reconnaissance à l’endroit d’un gouvernement qui a été à l’origine de la mise en œuvre du projet en fin 2010. Si Marin … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
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Smackdown time… ouchie!
I think you have to be a development economist with a 15 year old indeed to appreciate this line which made me burst out laughing two minutes ago (11:25 pm Ouagadougou time) while we house-sit at unnamed European embassy staffer … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Hard to criticise without seeming a spoilsport…
I wish them luck, but nothing on the website suggests they really have any idea what they are doing other than doing something “cool”… They claim their “digital library” will be profitable… yet the turnover in cybercafe’s (isn’t that what … Continue reading
Posted in Reading
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Friends in high places…. Matthiasson wines in Napa
What a great plug for Jill and Steve, who deserve it! Matthiasson is another example of the antithesis of Napa Valley’s glamorous side. Steve and Jill Klein Matthiasson are farmers, essentially — he is a leading vineyard consultant — and … Continue reading
Posted in United States
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100 million dollars – upcoming Obama trip to Africa
I always like to do the basic math. We (FAVL) set up village libraries for about $15,000 and that covers about five years of operations until the office of the mayor can take over. Let’s say there is no book … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking, General
1 Comment
Sahel climate change alarmism
I got in a good Twitter back and forth with Michael Boyce of Refugees International…. what is right characterization of livelihood change in Sahel… @MP_Boyce Compare rainfall/temp dist 1960-90 http://tinyurl.com/jw9bz7x with 1990-09. Basically the same, no? #Sahel more complx than … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
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Le Roi du Djadjo de Bali Nebie
Over the past week I read Le Roi du Djadjo by Bali Nebie. I met Bali in February, when Jean-Pierre Jacob, the anthropologist, suggested we have a beer with him. Jean-Pierre had found his book in the FAVL library we … Continue reading
From Sudan: I Almost Got Arrested For Wearing Pants | Blog #45
The rickshaw dropped us off by the office. Across the street, a large truck was parked, with two police officers standing beside it, talking to a young woman dressed not unlike myself; Jeans, white round-neck top, black cardigan. While one … Continue reading
Posted in Sudan
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David Kpelly, fantastic blogger….
Mais c’est la forme de la déclaration qui choque. Il est quand un peu aberrant de voir un ministre d’un grand, vaste et vieux pays comme le Mali qui depuis plus de cinquante ans maintenant crie sa souveraineté, aller s’arrêter … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking, Mali
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What has happened to heights of women in Africa over post-colonial period?
One of those questions that is relevant and interesting. Akachi and Canning use the DHS surveys and trace how birth cohorts have attained different height. Interestingly, in the simple time trend heights are steady (on average just under 160 cm … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking
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Encore des voitures de $100,000?
Vraiment je ne comprends pas la Banque Mondiale…Peut-être le car de transport ca se vend a $100,000, mais des 4×4? Et plus généralement, si le secteur minier et “porteur” pour le gouvernement, pourquoi la Banque ne refuse d’octroyer des crédits … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
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More kids go to school with cash transfer programs that make kids go to school?
However, using the categorization above, the picture is much clearer. In a random-effects meta-regression model with effect size as the dependent variable and this moderator describing the ‘intensity of conditionalities’ as the only independent variable, the coefficient estimate is large … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking
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Does Great Literature Make Us Better People?
Gregory Currie, author of this well-commented oped in New York Times, appears in the oped to have little interest in actually following through…. the piece comes across as lazy philosophy, making a trivial point and dressing it up as something … Continue reading
Posted in Reading
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Why am I so skeptical about the cost – benefit outcome of the MCA rural land tenure project?
To me, after having seen the Programme Nationale de Gestion de Terroirs (PNGT), it seems like more of the same: a huge chunk of the budget goes into the shadowplay of per diems and training sessions, and everyone knows that … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
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Stylish and sexy… that’s us!
Elliot, Leslie and I were just at Villa Kaya four days ago… Elliot in bathing suit having a sprite, Leslie and I very dusty… we didn’t feel…. no, we were, people kept glancing over at our table… I may even … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, Culture
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Michael Kevane 