Utopia

When I awoke it was to a sideways view of a bustling street filled with small stands and street vendors and truck drivers. Nassirou waited for his patron to arrive (“I drove all night to get here on time, and he’s still sleeping with the cell phone off”!), and I went to a bike shop with my bike to inquire about a file; a big metal file I could use to eek out just enough space for my tire. I only needed to remove about a quarter inch of what amounted to a threaded sleeve sticking out from the misplaced crossbar in order for the wheel to fit. The bike guy didn’t have a file but he took me to the welding shop across the way and through a gate and across a vacant lot. I thought: “OK, wait a minute. I could just buy a smaller tire”. I communicated my thoughts badly. I turned my back for a couple of minutes to talk to the bike guy, and the welder simply removed the protruding metal sleeve while I wasn’t looking. It was that quick. My bike was fine, the fat tire works, all is well, but I think I’ll have the folks at Independent Frames take a look at the frame geometry when I get back.

I thanked Nassirou for his tremendous kindness, turned down the offer to continue on to Cotonou with him, took his picture and promised to send him a copy and then rode off to find a hotel. Within minutes of leaving Nassirou, I met Sonteijmane Gorba, but that’s a bit of a mouthful and his friends call him Guetto. After 5 days together I now comfortably count myself among those friends.

Because I hadn’t called since leaving Agadez and it was too early to do so at the moment, I wanted to send Polly and Mia an email before I found a hotel and went to sleep. I asked randomly for an internet café and when I found it closed was taken in hand by the sign painter across the street, the aforementioned Guetto. His boss called a friend who had a computer at home, and Guetto led me all the way across town to his house, waited outside while I sat in the living room and wrote my messages, and then led me even further to a hotel where he though I would be comfortable.

He told me to come visit after I had slept, but I was so disoriented that it was only by accident that I rode my bike past his studio the next day, where he waved me over to say hello. He decided to give me a tour of the vicinity by bicycle, and this is how I got the opportunity to visit Darey Malki, a utopian agrarian community started in 1953 by two idealistic friends.

Family

We were taken in hand by the famille Kader Dodo, given a large wooden bowl of corn flour and water to drink, and of course I couldn't resist asking if I could take some portraits. The community is primarily composed of the families of the two, now deceased, pioneers, but others are welcome. One of the first buildings to rise, in fact, was a mosque to attract others to the site. If there are problems, you are asked to leave.

Solar Array

Modern technology drives the power in the hospital and the pumps for the wells, but otherwise I found a village still fully committed to an agrarian existance and quite a success.

Guetto and I biked back to Dosso together, I treated him to dinner, and we decided to go to Niamey together to get my visa for Benin.

Solar Array

Dosso, Niger