First steps in black Africa

CFA franc

I used to be the credit card person, who payed everything with plastic but  in Bamako I'm doing my best adjusting to a very cash society.


I only found one shop were I can use my credit card, all other places are "cash only". So, if you want to buy a television or a fridge in Mali you better bring a big bag of money with you. 


The first days we were constantly running out of cash so we went to a bank with our credit cards to get some more money  than what we could take at an ATM. 

Image via Wikipedia

Counties using CFA franc

How could I explain this experience... Everything is very chaotic in Bamako and a bank is not an exception. Forget about privacy because while you are recounting your money there are at least 3-4 other clients counting it with you (just to make sure that you don't miscalculate). 

And even the color of the cord that is used to hold the banknotes together is matching the African colorfulness. 

CFA franc is the local money, a currency that is used in 14 different African countries and I find them beautiful (at least when I can get my hands on a clean banknote). The biggest banknote is 10.000 CFA what is about 15 €.

Ladies at work

Mali is a Muslim country, people don't always like to be photographed and some foreigners’ already asked me how do I take those photos of people. I developed a technique that most of the time works perfectly. 

First, not to make people unsure, I hide my camera under a long scarf. I give a big smile to my target and say hello. The reaction is most of the time the same, they give me back an even bigger smile and the ice is broken... 

And I never had a negative answer on asking the parents if I could take a photo of their children. Knowing that in Mali 48% of the population is under 15 years old, the chances are on my side.

I have never seen so many babies in my life. Have the impression that each and every women between 15 to 50 has a baby on her back and what is even more amazing; those babies the whole day are dangling  on the backs of their mother or grandmother or aunty, they seem totally comfortable and happy and I never see any of them cry. 


We had good news today. Till today, because of several kidnappings of Westerners in some parts of Mali, there was a restriction on traveling. The north-east of Mali is still off limit but the green (safe) zone is quite promising. 


I can't wait to go outside of Bamako and to see the rest of the country. One of the first trips probably will be to Ségou, 240 km from Bamako and a 15 hours train trip from Bamako to Kayes is also on my bucket list...