Lesotho








Lesotho is a small country of Southern Africa made of steep mountains sheltering peasant communities living from agriculture (with maize as a staple crop) and animal husbandry (cows, sheep, goats) supplemented by the income from the men gone to work in the mines of South Africa. This important male migration has transfered the shepherding labour to the boys, children and teenagers, depriving them of schooling.

In cooperation with local development organisation GROW, we have made a series of music recordings with the inhabitants of several villages in the Mokhotlong valley. A CD will be produced out of these, the proceeds of which will feed the herdboys' literacy program, managed by volunteer villagers with the support of GROW.

We have also taken part in the Morija Festival, the largest cultural event in the country. We recorded a selection of dances, songs and instruments, in collaboration with the organizer, Morija Museum and Archives. We then conducted a series of interviews and music recordings devoted to a rare instrument, the lesiba, also intended to complement the Museum's sound archives.