Real Estate, unreal prices!

Yes sir.. yes it’s brand new but your property is not connected to NPA nor Guma Valley Water Company so sorry, it is not worth $45,000 a year in rent!

It might sound strange for someone who is involved in the Real Estate business to say that but it’s true. Anyone who has tried to rent a property in Sierra Leone will know just what i’m talking about. I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing here but I still wonder why we insist on building huge 5 or 6 bedroom properties hoping to command $30,000 in rent when either the workmanship is crap or it lacks adequate road, water or power facilities. You know what else? You only have two kids, the chances are that they will go to some other country for studies and God help you if they ever return to this country.

Sierra Leone has a high youth population so it’s no surprise that the bulk of requests we have is for 1 to 3 bedroom properties under $5,000 a year – young couple and individuals starting out their independent lives – unfortunately there is a drastic shortage of those in the market. I think it’s also a hangover from the days the UN and other many NGOs  used to be here, just after the conflict and were paying funny money for the limited properties on the market. Those days are well and truly gone but it seems no one told landlords.

As someone involved in the real estate business, it is really not in our interest to have overpriced properties on our books because that’s just where they stay. Properties that stay in the books earn no commission. I’d much rather have 2 properties rented in a year with a commission of $1,000 (for arguments sake) – than wait 2 years to earn $2,000 on one property.

Interestingly, we paid a visit to another estate agent today under the guise of looking for a property. We talked for a while, before he admitted to us that the problem is that the properties are overpriced and he launched into a bit of a rant. So this is a national problem huh? Oh well. He said they tell landlords but they are having none of it.

What is the point of holding out for $15000 annual rent (for a year) when you could have rented it for less and not lose that amount in revenue. Of course you end up spending more to do up the property after a year because an empty house deteriorates pretty rapidly.

We’re still pretty new to this but my hope is that eventually landlords will start getting a real sense of what their property is worth. A property is a long term investment for most people that’s why ordinary folk don’t pay a mortgage back in 5 years. 

Landlords, if your beautiful property has not rented for over a couple of years.. hint.. your pricing may be wrong. They say the right price of a product is what people are prepared to pay for it.

As for those looking for a property in Sierra Leone, trust me – I feel your pain. This is a task which requires three vital things… patience, luck or money (and lots of them). Good luck!

Continue to check out VSL Property for Real Estate Listings in Sierra Leone.

Christmas in Bonthe - Written by Arnold Awoonor-Gordon

When I mentioned to people in Freetown,  and even Sierra Leoneans in London that I had been to Bonthe,  the first reaction is ‘You nor dae frade de wata?’    I cannot understand this fear of the sea from a people who were mostly born within the sound of the waves of the sea.  There must be a physiological reason for this.  Although Bonthe can be reached by a long and not too comfortable road,  yet the easiest way is by boat,  and we choose a speed boat.  Anyway the boat ride from the Freetown Aqua Sports Club was smooth,  and we were able to pick out various beaches on the peninsular as we speed along, passing Kent,  the southern  most tip of the Peninsular,  Banana Island,  Plaintain Island and Shenge.   The approach to Bonthe was rather spectacular with the low laying mangrove swamp forming a spectacular foreground  to the low laying chalets  of the Bonthe Holliday Village which came into sight as we approached the small jetty.

The sight of an old PZ warehouse on the seafront reminded us of the long and profitable economic place that Bonthe,  which is situated on Sherbro Island, has in the development of Sierra Leone.  This was at a time when the produce of the interior of the country such as piassava (for those who don’t know what piassava is used for,  it is in the making of brushes and bristles, and at one time Bonthe exported two thirds of the worlds piassava) palm oil,  palm kernel,  ginger and above all, rice,  passed through Bonthe on to the worlds markets.  Large ships from around the world came to Bonthe to carry these produces to a  world hungry for these produces, and one can imagine the hustle and bustle as this  island,  the same size as Jamaica, became the centre of the export trade of Sierra Leone.  The coming of the railways and building of roads into the hinterland of the country killed Bonthe as an economic and vibrant export heart of the country.  The piassava trade was also devastated when the world discovered that plastic made cheaper brushes.   Today all this is left are the old warehouses of such illustrious trading companies as SCOA,  CFAO, PZ and several other companies whose names are no more recognised today by younger Sierra Leoneans.

As we approached the group of chalets that make up the Bonthe Holiday Village,  one immediately saw the hands of Joy Samake,  owner of Balmaya restaurant at Congo Cross, one of the partners in the project,  stamped all over the place.  The other partners in the project is the  eminent Sierra Leonean and Bonthe resident,  Dr Peter Tucker,  who had the first holiday camp on the site and indeed owns the land he has leased to the partnership.  The third partner is Englishman Martyn Marriott, who has had a long association with Sierra Leone in the diamond business,  and has had a credible desire to invest and give something back to the country.    The layout,  the manicured lawn, shell gravel path and the design of the chalets shows the care and devotion that she has put into making the place the island of haven it has become.  Her hands can also be seen in the layout, design and construction of the chalets, and what is more important, the high quality of the materials used and the high quality of the fittings and furnishings.  The bedrooms and bathrooms are of a standard comparable ( and in some cases,  better)  to anything found in the so called five star hotels in Freetown.  And what is more,  everything worked...the toilets flushed,  hot and cold water came at the turn of taps,  good quality bath towels (changed daily)  and the floors were cleaned each day.  I understand that  most  of the material used in the construction of the chalets and  public buildings were imported from Italy.  Now one could see, understand and admire the hard work put in by Joy in transporting everything by road from Freetown to the  Mattru or Yargoi,  the nearest point to Bonthe.  From there everything (including tomatoes) has to be put on boats and ferried across to the Bonthe.  One must admire the drive and tenacity of Joy for making it all possible despite having to do the weekly drive from Freetown  on unpaved and potholed roads, taking building materials and supplies for the building of what I can only describe as world class complex of chalets.

The attraction  of the Bonthe Holiday Village is the game-fishing which attracts sports anglers  from around the world.  When the largest tarpon was caught off the waters of Bonthe in the early 1990s,  it made headlines in international sports-angling circles,  and game-fishing mad men from around the world wanted to visit Bonthe to see whether they could beat the record.  Since then  12 world records in various line classes,  and weighing between  166kg and 283kg,  have been caught in the area. A days fishing trip from the village is a must  and can be arranged, if you are so inclined.  But not being so inclined,  I spent most of the time laying by the pool and cooling off either by jumping into the pool or sipping gin and tonic complete with lime and lots of ice. But there are other type of fish to be caught in the area such barracuda, yellow jack, grouper and giant mackerel.

One other speciality of the Bonthe Holiday Village is the food.  Prepared in the open plan kitchen,  another trade mark of Joy,  it is up to international standards and prepared by a chef from  Benin,  the  former French African country,  and who learned his culinary skills in some of the best hotels along the West African coast.  Breakfast of bacon and eggs and tomatoes,  lots of toasted baguettes and masses of local coffee.  Lunch consists of fish caught locally and from the sea to the table in a few hours,  which tasted  like fish never tasted before.  As we spent Christmas at the village,  we were treated to turkey with all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding, something to remind us of home in the UK were most of the guests came from.

Visiting the Bonthe Holiday Village is a must for anyone visiting Sierra Leone and especially Sierra Leoneans who, putting away their fears of ‘wata’ would find it an unsual experience visiting an upmarket holiday concept  partly owned, designed and managed by a Sierra Leonean.

To book your stay at the Bonthe Holiday Village you can contact Visit Sierra Leone or click here to book

Lungi: Not just for airports anymore, by Ryann Manning

In three years, I’ve probably passed through Lungi 18 times. On 17 occasions, I ventured no further than the airport, helipad, hovercraft launch, or ferry terminal. Once, I spent six hours in the Lungi Airport Hotel before my 5 a.m. Royal Air Maroc flight. Never did I consider exploring beyond that.

But now I know: Lungi has treasures of its own.

Just 45 minutes from the airport, and a lifetime removed from the bustle of town, lies the idyllic getaway of Sierra Paradise. On a recent visit, we followed the owner, Sammy, down a dirt road through dense tropical forest until we emerged suddenly in an impossibly bright clearing, the sun brilliant off the white sand. Spread across the clearing, dotted amongst a handful of palm trees, were five candy-colored bungalows. And beyond, the parallel lines of beach, water, and sky.

The bungalows alone were welcoming enough – constructed in a traditional style, with round walls and neatly-thatched roofs, but like no village homes I’ve ever seen. Each was painted in an almost impossibly cheery color – one peppermint red, another buttercup yellow, a third the color of the mid-day sky – and the thatch roofs were topped by abstract sculptures. Within each bungalow were two immaculate mirror-image suites, both with a spacious bedroom and modern en suite bathroom.

Sammy led us to the sky-blue bungalow. Inside, his attention to detail and love of his native Sierra Leone were both on display. The curtains fluttering in two open windows were gara-died blue in shades of ocean and sky, as were the sheets and bedspread on the enormous bed and the cushions on the  wicker chairs nearby. Carefully-selected works by local artisans livened the room and its adjoining bathroom, and woven lightshades softened the fixtures hanging overhead. Even the curtain rods were noticeably beautiful – lengths of reed, natural and warmly polished – and on the bathroom sink lay both traditional African hair combs and squares of lavender-scented French soap.

The sink accoutrements were just one hint of Sammy’s own background. Born and raised in Freetown, he has lived the last 15 years in France and now divides his time between the two countries.He returned to Sierra Leone to create this boutique resort, with an emphasis on cultural tourism and the amenities to please an international crowd. “I’ve spent time overseas,” he said. “I know what they want.”  And yet he also aims to expose visitors to what Sierra Leone has to offer. Thus, Sierra Paradise serves traditional dishes like groundnut stew and cassava leaf, but made with vegetable oil instead of palm oil (to appeal to foreign palates) and with fresh shrimp, fish, and tender beef. To accompany dinner, Sammy offers French wines and real-brewed coffee, but also freshly-tapped palm wine. “From God to man,” he said.

Food and drinks are served in an open barrie-style dining area, with a half-moon bar at one end decorated by a colorful mural and ringed by tall stools. From the bar, we could peer through the palm trees to the beach beyond. A short walk brought us through the long beach-side grass – I’d call it dune grass if I were in New England – to a narrow strip of sand. To either side, we could see nothing but the narrow palm-lined white sand beach stretching for miles. Ahead of us was a vast mud flat, rippling like water and shimmering in the sunset, stretching almost to the horizon. Scattered across the mud were a handful of fishing boats, abandoned by design or by chance to await the rising tide.

I wandered out across the mudflat, collecting seashells and peering in tide pools, until the setting sun drove me back toward the sand. At one point a family passed by on a motorbike – a mother, father, and three children – following the line of palm trees to return to their village. The soft hum of their bike was the only disruption to the utter peace and quiet. I couldn’t remember when I’d last been so relaxed.

Later, listening to music and drinking palm wine, Sammy told us about his plans for the resort. Tours of the neighboring villages. Performances of traditional music and dance. A chance to fish with local fishermen. I suggested he include a visit to the nearby palm-wine bar, down the road from the resort. When we’d stopped there earlier that day to pick up refreshments for the evening, following Sammy down a narrow footpath through the thick bush to a tiny shaded clearing, we found a dozen men and women drinking palm wine from used plastic water bottles. Though the conversation slowed when we arrived, I was sure it would have picked up again once we settled in, and I vowed to return.

All-in-all, Sammy has put together a beautiful retreat from the bustle of city life. As we strolled through the clearing the next morning, surprising two acrobatic monkeys playing in the trees by the kitchen, I imagined the resort filled with an array of guests. In the daytime, with the miles of shell-strewn beach and frolicking monkeys, it would be perfect for families. In the evening, when the setting sun shimmers across the mudflats and the soft hum of the tropical forest begins its nightly chorus, it would be a romantic paradise for honeymooners or courting couples. At night, when the stars sparkle in a sky unmarred by urban light pollution, and Sammy plays African and European dance tracks while dishing up large mugs of palm wine, it will offer a playground for young adventurers.

Regardless, it is well worth a visit.

*Prices from $115, all meals included. To book contact Visit Sierra Leone (info@visitsierraleone.org )

Two Visit Sierra Leone Tour Guides graduate from first tour guide training programme

As Sierra Leone struggles to get the tourism industry back on track a tour guide training programme is seen as a key component of the strategic planning process.  Funded by the Integrated Fund, the training was a three month course comprising of 70% practical (field trips etc) and 30% theoretical in eight key modules (tourism philosophy, travel Geography, wild life and forestry, history, communication skills, Human relations, culture and first aid) supported by an examination at the end of the course.

Visit Sierra Leone is proud to have submitted two of our guides to the course and would like to congratulate Alieya Kargbo and Abdulai Sankoh on their successful completion.

Alieya Kargbo was selected to give the vote of thanks on behalf of all the guides at the end of the Graduation Ceremony and did so in a manner befitting the honour.

Thirty three (33) students successfully completed the course and were awarded with certificate in a low key graduation ceremony graced by the Minister of Tourism and Culture by Hindolo Trye, General Manager of the National Tourist Board, Mr Cecil Williams and a representative from the IF (funding agency), Mr Peter Donelan. Licenses are due to by collected early this year. Training for another group of thirty (30) students will commence in February to complete the project.

DNA Tests Bringing African Americans to Sierra Leone

We left Freetown before the crack of dawn and I made sure not to get relegated to the back seat, i politely asked the reporter who had decked himself shotgun to move to the back and he obliged. I made sure to wear one of my very long africana dresses so that i could wrap it around my feet as i did my best to get into the fetal position using a lappa as my pillow. We were in a convoy of two SUVs headed for what i thought to be a brief stop in Bo and then on to Sulima on the South Eastern coast next to the Liberian border. I chose sleep over the green scenery on the Bo-Freetown highway and though i woke up intermittently at checkpoints and pit stops at Mile 91 and Moyamba Junction it was only long enough to remove the kink in my neck to curl back up to sleep.

After what seemed like forever but really was only 3 hours we stopped behind the SUV carrying our esteemed guests, we had reached Baima a town on the outskirts of Bo Town. Our guests were Fred Jordan and Nanette Cutliff two African Americans who had traveled to Sierra Leone from San Francisco, California to speak at The African Network's yearly private sector entrepreneurship and investors conference. Coincidentally both Fred and Nanette had several years earlier taken DNA tests to unveil their African ancestral origins and as fate would have it their DNA had not only brought them to Sierra Leone but more specifically to the mende ethnic group in the South & East of the country.

I stumbled out of the car worried how my now sleepy face would look on camera. The other half of our two man production crew MP Conteh was already out of the car and half way through his fag. I put on some lipgloss, hoping that would be enough and walked over to Fred and Nanette who looked as tired as i did but clearly anticipating the ceremony of which they would soon partake. School children, women and men of Baima chiefdom stood in the entrance community and sang to the drums, shegura and other traditional instruments whose names i do not know. They sang: "home again, home again, when shall i see my home? when shall i see my native land? i shall never forget my home".

Fred and Nanette waved and shook hands and I walked behind them while MP Conteh ran in front of us to get a shot of us entering the village, the welcome party closed in behind us and we walked up the hill to the community center. The villagers were already seated along with the regent chief at the high table that was later introduced to us with his proper name and title. The chief spoke in Mende and while someone else translated for us in a melange of englishkrio.

The Regent chief recognized the other lesser and greater chiefs present, the teachers, the elders, the women, the councilor and every person of note that was present and yet still at the end of it all apologized for not being able to recognize everyone because of time. He announced that we were gathered together because our brother and our sister have finally returned home. He spoke briefly about slavery and said that though our people were driven away they had now returned. A member of our entourage Sallia was asked to introduce Fred & Nanette to the people as he Sallia was also a son of the very chiefdom of Gbaima. Sallia went further into the history of slavery and said that before the time of his great great great great great great father that the ancestors of Fred & Nanette had been taken into slavery and generations later Fred & Nanette had used DNA to trace their heritage to Sierra Leone and that now they were back home.

After the introduction, Fred got up and spoke heartily about a journey he had made with his son many years earlier visiting African countries from Senegal to Kenya looking for people who resembled him, a lifelong quest to know where he was from. He explained that his mother had bore 13 children and that he was 1 of 1200 in his family of brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, grand children and great grandchildren and by taking the DNA test he had answered the question of African ancestry for all 1200 of his family. Fred pulled out a copy of Steven Spielberg's The Amistad and explained the story of a mende man by the name of Sengbeh Pieh who had triumphed against slavery and beat the US Supreme court to gain his freedom and return back to Sierra Leone. Fred proudly exclaimed that the mende people of Sierra Leone were therefore stronger in his eyes than any other African people. He spoke of the importance of his journey to Sierra Leone and called it a milestone in his life.

As he sat down i thought how disconnected indeed we were from our history of slavery...It is almost that we convinced ourselves here on the continent that slavery happened to THEM that THEY were sold into slavery and therefore it is not our shared history but rather a history of some far far away people in a far away land.

A mende Gorboi debul (masquerade) heavily clothed in rafia came out of nowhere in the crowd and zoomed up to where i was seated and my heart jumped out of its heartcase...i didnt know what was going on. I started to whimper until i was instructed to touch it. I didn’t realize women could touch them so the little girl in me who had been scared of debuls couldn’t touch the Gorboi. It went over to the Regent cheif guided by it's handler and the Chief touched it. He went to Fred and Nanette and others at the high table and they touched it. Finally it came back to me and the krio pekin in me reached out and touched it...i didn’t die...wheww that was close. It danced for a good 15 minutes shaking its rafia reminding me of those dragons from the Chinese New Year Performances. It was beautiful and my camera could not catch it in motion, every attempt was a blur of rafia. Finally the Gorboi debul got money and it was appeased and retreated out of the community center.

After the Gorboi debul had exited the Regent Chief announced that the Songai Chief ruling family was now going to adopt Fred and Nanette as one of their own. A bottle of Schweppes and a cup of water was produced, and one of the other chiefs poured libation on the floor and began to incant the ancestors and the spirits while mixing the liquor with water and earth. While the incantations were being chanted Mr. Fawundu who is Crim and Mende by tribe but born again Christian in religion afraid of participating in a heathen traditional practice began to repeat In the name of jesus, i cover u in the blood of jesus. I couldn’t help but laugh. The chief took the concoction of water, earth, liquor, and blessings and rubbed his forefinger on the heads of Nanette and Fred, the Chief pronounced that hence forth Nanette would be known as Gilo Songai while Fred would be known as Mundalo Songai. The rebirthed children of the Mende tribe were then handed gifts of country cloth from the community as the hall broke into song and dance. We walked out of the hall and joined the rest of the traditional dancers, drummers and well wishers as we headed to the several acres of land that had been set aside by the community to be given to Gilo and Mundalo as an incentive to return to their ancestral home and contribute to its development.

Gilo and Mundalo overjoyed and grateful rejoined our waiting convoy as we headed to Bo Town, Sierra Leone's second largest city. Starving, we headed to the Lebanese owned and operated SABs Restuarant. We spent the next hour or so in high spirits eating and laughing, all of us happy and satisfied with the days events. After Lunch we jumped in our now dust covered cars for the 4 hour journey back to Freetown to join the frenzy of people gathering at Taia Resort for the next day's investment conference.

After we came back from the adoption ceremony of Fred & Nanette, now uncle Mundalo and aunty Gilo, we spent the next two days participating in TAN conference events including the investment conference and the post conference cocktail at Country Lodge. Uncle Mundalo spoke about the importance of building economic ties between africa and african americans, connecting the dots of our common history to unleash africa's potential. As the president of the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce, Fred Mundalo presented a plaque to His Excellency Ernest Bai inducting him into the Black Chamber of Commerce. Uncle Mundalo's speech was preceded by a presentation by actor Jeffrey Wright who has spent the past several years working on a sustainable mining project that seeks to add as much value to its stake holders as to the communities in which they mine. His mining company Taia LLC work (no relation to Taia Resort) in partnership with the Taia Peace Foundation the charity arm of Taia LLC. Just this month the Taia Peace Foundation gave Sierra Leone Road and Transport Authority 1.4bn leones ($350,000) raised earlier this year from a benefit in New York city attended by former US president Bill Clinton, Jessica Alba, Ben Stiller, three representatives of Penguia Chiefdom in Pujehun, Sierra Leone and other important folk. The night was brought to a close by Creole Jazz vocalist Gwyn Jay Allen performing songs from his album "I Love Loius: a Creole tribute to Loius Armstrong". It was a wonderful collection of a diverse group of people connecting all the dots of the African network. The festivities went well into the late of night but i excused myself in preparation for our trip to the slave castle ruins on Bunce Island.

The folks over at Visit Sierra Leone had organized several trips to Bunce Island in previous years but I had been unable to make the trip. To complete Fred and Nanette's narrative experience back to Sierra Leone we had to visit Bunce Island, a slave castle that could have once been the place of no return for Fred and Nanette's ancestors. According to anthropologist and historian Joseph Opala, more slaves went directly to the Carolina & Georgia Rice Plantations from Sierra Leone than from any other slave castles on the African coast including Goree & Elmina.

We chattered two speed boats from the Pelican Water Taxi courtesy of Visit Sierra Leone that provided us with a tour guide for the trip. The view heading to the island was spectacular and the sea breeze was good too. It was a one hour journey to the island with a short pit stop on one of the surrounding islands to pick up Mr. Brima, an elderly temne pa, the self appointed custodian, tour guide, and keeper of the visitor's log of uninhabited Bunce Island.

We got off the speed boat and i was overwhelmed by the silence; no people, no beep beep, no disturbing smells, no nothing, nothing. It was serene and i loved it. When we began the tour i was immediately struck by the difference between Goree and Elmina and Bunce which seemed like it belonged in a category all of its on. What we saw were the ruins of a castle on an island that is poorly cared for and over run by trees and shrubs and grass. Pa Brima who struggled to speak krio tried to reconstruct the story of slavery in Sierra Leone and the history of the castle that had passed through Dutch, Portuguese, and British slavers. He spoke of a temne man by the name of Adams who served as servant/care taker/slaver under all three European slave eras and he would eventually show us the broken and efaced tombstone of Adams as locals now struggle to claim ownership of the island that has now been declared a national heritage site as well as a UNESCO world heritage site. A week after i visited Bunce I met a direct descendant of the slaver Adams and jokingly suggested that his family pay reparations.

As Fred and Nanette walked through the Island they were most touched by the explanation of the treatment of slaves at Bunce Island. According to Pa Brima and our VSL tour guide, female and male slaves at Bunce Island were kept for up to 4days without food and then forced to run around the castle up to six times. Anyone who could not complete the obstacle course was whipped merciless and set aside as a weakling unfit for the sale. Those who made it up to the 4th through 6th round would be separated and branded for sale. We saw the canons left over from several attacks on the castle over decades of scrambling for Africa's human resources. We walked over to what would have been the door of no return and i entered into a cave that would have held the slaves for the last time before they left for death or the new world. the cave was pitch black, and the wings and screeches of what felt like hundreds of bats frightened me and i jumped out of the cave. We concluded our tour by signing Pa Brima's guest book as he remembered to tell us that Colin Powell had made the journey to Bunce Island some years before. In his autobiography My American Journey Colin Powell's expresses his feelings after visiting Bunce Island, he writes “I am an American…but today, I am something more. I am an African too. I feel my roots here in this continent”

Before we left the island i asked Fred Mundalo Songai Jordan two questions: What do you think we can do to bring more African Americans to Sierra Leone and will you come back? "I will be back sooner than you think. But most importantly i hope to spread the word and tell others of the hospitality that i have been shown here in Sierra Leone and the beauty of its people and the country. I intend to go on a campaign to convince the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce to have their annual conference here in when Sierra Leone turns 50 in the year 2011. But as to what will bring African Americans to Sierra Leone, it is simple. African Americans need to know that they are welcome with open arms, that they will be safe and that there are people here who can facilitate their visit. African Americans are a proud people who are not only proud of being black but they are also very proud of being African and i believe that they will come."

Fred signs the guest book and we take a photograph together a memory I will always cherish. I believe that as many more African Americans use DNA to trace their ancestry we will find that many more are willing to make the journey Salone and even go so far as to making substantial contributions to the country's national development. We just need to do our part to make sure that when our DNA brothers and sisters come home they actually have facilities and facilitators to make the trip a worthwhile experience.

for more information:

http://www.yale.edu/glc/gullah/index.htmhttp://www.yale.edu/glc/gullah/index.htm

http://www.taiapeace.org/

http://www.news.sl/drwebsite/publish/article_200513882.shtml

http://www.yale.edu/glc/events/bunce.pdf