CosWeAfricanWomenAreDoin&DoinItWell: 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

MAROCAN HIP HOP DANCER & CHOREOGRAPHER MISS MALAIKA BELLOUJEN IN MACADAM-MACADAM

Malaika Belloujen is a reknown hip hop dancer and choreographer of Marocan descant...

She is classically trained and has appeared in many videos from Laam Robie Williams to Saian Supa Crew ect..

She has taught in Israel, Belgium,guyana, marocco ect...

She's appeared in a few movies such as "The Dancer" of Luc Besson...

She also taught hip hop on the French reality tv show Staracademy..

She also stars in the musical show Macadam Macadam

"Macadam Macadam" showcase a salad of beautiful diverse talents from dancers to roller skaters and bikers..if you can go see it you will be entertained

See Malaika here

Djaa my girls from Maroc sont dedans aussi:)

Eyeee Wayeee:)

NIGERIAN/CONGOLESE GRAFFITI ARTIST & PORTRAITIST!!

The Artist focused on her "wall"

Nice

Her first wall

Nichee

Queen Bombz

Bombz did it

Bombz was here

Love to see how diverse we are, in the things we enjoy doing, in our passions ect..

Queen Bombz is a 20 years old young artist of Nigerian and Congolese origins

She's into portrait work, graffity and photography...

I'm just in awe of all of talents..we are "crazy talented" and we need to know it :)

Her webbie

Djaa my ladies sont dans le graffiti aussi:)

Eyeeee Wayeeee:)

DR.FLORENCE WAMBUGU & THE AFRICA HARVEST BIOTECH FOUNDATION..

Dr Wambugu is an agricultural plant pathologist specialized in genetic engineering for the protection against viral crop diseases ..heavy stuff right!!!

She was born in a rural area of Kenya where she saw early on the poverty in which farmer families like hers were living in...

In 1975 she became the first Kenyan woman to be admitted to the University of Nairobi to study botany and zoology..she later on obtained a masters in plant pathology...

Its while she was preparing for her PHD that she did some research on viral diseases that were affecting sweet potatoes crops in Kenya...

While she was studying at Washinghton UVI she learned about the technology put in place by Manseto that could prevent the death of the crops in Kenya

She battled very hard to be granted the right to use this technology in Kenya but the results were outstanding:the genitically modified crops grew with higer yields...

Against strong international criticism she received and still receives, Dr Wambugu is an outspoken advocate for biotechnology...She believes that it would be ridiculous not to use scientific progress to reduce malnutrition and poverty

Realizing that bananas are some of the most important agricultural ressources in Kenya, the African Harvest Biotech Foundation worked on the banana tissue culture project-which aim is to increase the yields of banana crops in Kenya...

She started the AHBF in 2005 with aim to increase the productivity of farmers and to fight poverty..this year she was awarded the YARA Awards which celebrates the best African scientists in Africa..

I fell upon these advices she gave at a university commencement ..I thought it was a great message:

1. Willingness to live in a tent, not a stone house: be flexible

2. Take courage to embrace change

3. It is inevitable to take risks in life

4. Refuse to settle in the comfort zone

5. Never stop acquiring knowledge and skills

6. Don't settle for too little when there is much more inside and outside there for you7. Have a powerful and compelling personal vision and define your mission

Her official website:

http://africaharvest.org

Djaa there are some amazing ladies in Kenya:)

Eyeee Wayeee:)

TOGOLESE HAIR & MAKE UP ARTIST,MISS LAURE..

My Fav' look from the hair to the make up

Glamazone

Chic Homeless Style

Who said black girls couldn't do red

Laure is a 27 years old Hair & Make up Artist who resides in France

and work for various fashion african mags

Looking forward to seeing more of her work

Her webbie

Djaa les gos du Togo sont dedans aussi:)

Eyeee Wayee:)

SEHENO MALGACHI SINGER

Her music is so full of sun, the notes the rythm are full of hope...

I could see myself enjoying her live concerts, discoverin new sonorities..

I am not too familiar with Madagascar's music apart from Rachel R...so this is a beautiful discovery

She was born in Madagascar and has lived btw that beautiful island, France and India

Maybe it's just me but it even seems like I hear a bit of Indian rythm in her music

Her album is called Ka and it takes you through her beautiful journey..

She's very passionate about ecology to prove that her actions follow her words che chose recycled cotton fibres used by local Indian artisans to create the little booklets sold with her cds...

Her webbie is:

http://www.seheno.com/

See her live here

Djaa my ladies from Madagascar sont dedans aussi:)

Eyeee Wayeee:)

Monday, December 29, 2008

CARROT CAKE ANYONE?

Pic courtesy of Mitsooko

Ready to buy your ingredients fabulafricana:

4 eggs
2 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of oil
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3 cups of shredded carrots
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of cinamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of chopped peacans

Now to make the frosting you'll need:

1/2 of softened butter
1 tsp of vanilla
3 ounces of cream cheese
powdered sugar

Start off by preheating the oven to 175° C or 350°F....grease your pan if possible a 9x13 inch pan
Mix in a bowl your flour, baking powder and soda,sugar,and salt
Beat your eggs add in some sugar gradually followed the oil and the vanilla
Mix the eggs mixture to the flour mixture
add the chopped peacans and carrots to the mixture

The frosting mixture is quite simple to make:

Beat the cream cheese, the butter,the powdered sugar and the vanilla..

Bake@ 375F to 400F for 35 to 40 minutes and tadaaa Fabulafricana it's ready...

This is a good version of the recipe: http://www.joyofbaking.com/CarrotCake.html

"ENTRE LES MURS" OR A REAL MOVIE THAT SHOWS THE REAL SIDE OF A MULTICULTURAL FRENCH SCHOOL....

The Class, the title in English

The Cast in NY

Real Face of French teenagers..Caucasian Taiwanese Malian Marocan...

The young actors and students

Do you remenber those days in school when you were trying to figure out who you were as a teenager? Do you remenber those kids who were so assertive and weren't afraid to talk back to the teacher...now picture a classroom full of kids just like that and one teacher who is not giving up on his mission..bound to be volcanic..

Francois the teacher is played by the writer of the novel on which this movie is based-Francois Begaudeau..is trying as much as he can to get these children of immigrants to get an education

It's not easy for these children who are born in France but issued from conventional cultures 2 have to learn to navigate btw the 2 worlds..

Sometimes they chose to hide behind their verbal agression...

This movie is very courageous because it humanize these teachers ...it shows that they are not perfect and that they have of and on days just like anyone..

For example in one scene one of the teachers expresses his total discouragement in front of the atitude of these students

There are so many social layers adressed in this movie....

Immigration
Living in the projects
relationship teacher/student
the gap btw kids born in France and their parents who are immigrants

This past summer it was awarded the "Palme d'Or" at the Cannes Festival and picked as the French selection at the upcoming Oscars..

The 24 kids on the movie are now back to school ..with the movie they travel the world and most of them are now thinking about pursuing acting careers...

This gave them the opportunity to experience new things and to show other kids that they are not the only ones facing those issues of integration..

This movie directed by Laurent Catet is witty and honest...

Esmeralda as Ouertani as Sandra

Franck Keita as Souleymane

French official webbie:

http://www.entrelesmurs-lefilm.fr
English official webbie:

http://www.sonyclassics.com/theclass/

Here's the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz5svwJqoVU

Go see it....

FABULAFRICANA DO YOU KNOW HOW TO KEEP FLOWERS ALIVE?

Courtesy of Joseph Y.

Mine always die:(.. so you know what this year I will learn how to keep them alive...

From the bit of research I've done,I gather that:

We should always cut of one inch of the flowers ..sharp scissors will do or a knife and put them asap in a vase of course filled with lukewarm water remenber to change the water every 2 days...

When buying them it's best to buy them already cut ....

Always make sure that there aren't any leaves in the water

If you are dealing with roses the trick is to cut the stems in the water

Def' use the packets given to you by the florist they contain chemicals that will kill the bacterias in the water and will feed your plants as well

Some experts say that adding seven up to lukewarm water can maintain your flowers alive, some use 1/2 of bleach and a bit of lemon juice as well.

Keep flowers away from the sun and in cool places at night

Never put flowers close to a bowl of fruits because they release a nefaste gas

Another interestin trick I've learned consists of putting dead looking roses in a bit of water..it may freshen them up ...

You can also add a bit of sugar to your water ..

I found this article quite helpful : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17116132/

Enjoy your flowers:)

SOULFUL SINGER GERMANO/SIERRA LEONAN MISS MARIAMA...

Miss Mariama..

Afroprean Express

If you are a big fan of acoustic soul, if you are a big fan of story tellers then you may want to listen to Mariama

Mariama is half German and Sierra Leonan ..this beautiful heritage she attests to it on her solo projects and also as part of the Afropean Express project...

With the 2 Bantu Brothers they sing about their experiences as bridges btw the 2 cultures that they know and love...

Mariama is working on a solo project but in the meantime has a few songs that she has released already...

Discover her on "A long way home"

Djaa my sisters from Sierra Leone sont dedans aussi:)

Eyeee Wayee:)

I NEED ALL OF YOUR HELP .....WHAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF 2008 FOR YOU GUYS?

Yes you..the people who stop by this blog..just wanted to figure out your thoughts on 2008 and your hopes for 2009..

You can write freestyle but Some of my questions are:

In 2008 what was your biggest accomplishment?and regrets if any?

In 2008 which one African person or African event that happened that will stay marked in your memory?

What are your goals for 2009?What would you like to accomplish?

What were your favorite African blogs webbies ect .....

If you would like to shout out someone or wish a happy new year to someone feel free to add it to your post.....

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHERE YOU ARE FROM, YOUR NAME, AND WHAT COUNTRY YOU ARE REPRESENTING ...

ADD A PICTURE IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AS WELL....

My email is: yayemarie2226@yahoo.com

Thank you

Yaye

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

LA DIOSA -JEWELRY HOUSE!

Gorgeous Piece

Joli

Brun au chocolat

Simple

Nice finishing touches

Pas mal

La Diosa Jewelry House was founded by 2 young ladies of 21 years old..

Ethiopian Semhal Zeimkael and British Natasha Faith were inspired while travelling to Mexico to create their own line...While down in Mexico they were impressed by the beautiful pieces of jewelry that they saw women wearing everywhere

They didn't have experience but decided to travel the world to learn about technicks in the meantime they built a strong business plan and received a loan of 5000 Pounds.

Today people like Kelly Rowlands Leona Lewis wear their stuff...their plans include opening a store in NY...

http://www.ladiosa.co.uk/

Love to see these young'uns doing the damn thing!!!

Eyeee Wayeeee!!!