OKA contributor and ‘responsible tourism‘ guru, Thomas Armitt, chronicles his recent trip to Sierra Leone in four parts.

Part 1: John Obey Beach – Community-exchange & Sustainable Living Tourism Project
When I arrived, I was greeted with a big plate of chop (food in Krio) and a Star beer (national beer of Sierra Leone) by Kat, a volunteer overseeing the project. We got along straight away and then I was introduced to the night security guards, Momo and Mister Alou Sene who is also the village Imam. I was shown to my accommodation and after debating the differences and similarities of Islam and Christianity  with the group (Sierra Leone is 50/50), I called it a night.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of waves crashing and birds twittering. I slowly rose from my mosquito net covered ‘four-poster’ bed and opened the door to my beach shack to discover Sierra Leone in the daytime. It was beautiful! Just outside my accommodation was a lagoon which rose and fell with the Ocean tide, multi-coloured butterflies flew gracefully between the palm trees and a gentle breeze carried the smell of jasmine around the shack. Welcome to Sierra Leone!

After breakfast I was shown around the project. Solar tower, recycling area, compost toilets, earth bag ‘honeydomes’(below), permaculture garden, bucket showers — all the signs of a sustainable development project that works. The project also employs 30 people from the local community, 10 of them were working on a new structure using the skills they had learnt over the past year to build earth bag domes as accommodation for guests. I was told that this was the main project, so I lent a hand on the ‘building site’. By the afternoon, the structure was nearly finished. I was given the honor of laying the last earth bag on the top which we then celebrated by playing drums and singing. Such a good feeling!

For the next couple of days, I learnt how to cook “special sauce,” practiced yoga, went to visit the local school, cooked an amazing lime and spice mackerel wrapped in banana leaves and baked in the mud oven dish. I swam every morning and every night at sunset, went baby croc spotting, drank palm wine, visited the market at Waterloo, experienced tropical thunderstorms, visited the improvised turtle sanctuary on the beach, listened to local legends around the hot stove, and learnt about the local communities’ aspirations and ambitions. As you can imagine, it was hard to leave, but my feet were itching to walk other paths and discover more of hidden Salone.

To be continued… next time: Part 2: The provinces – Waterloo to Bo & Beyond.

Visit the West Africa Discovery website to learn more about West Africa and Armitt’s selection of sustainable tourism tours, accommodations, and volunteer projects.