Saturday, March 29, 2014

Venice of AFRICA?

photo source NLÉ architects
Makoko is a slum neighborhood located on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria.  The population is believed to be well over 85,000. Makoko was established and remains primarily a fishing village.  The majority of structures are simple and build on stilts over the Lago Lagoon. Today the area is essentially self-governing. Unfortunately in 2012, Nigerian government destroyed many homes giving residents on 72 hours to evacuate and one resident was killed during the process.   Makoko is an area of great poverty yet a home and a cultural area for it's citizens.  The area is at risk for development do to it's desirable waterfront location.Every home has a canoe. The large ones go out to sea with nets to fish. Smaller ones are used for inshore work. The fish are returned to Makoko where they are smoked.
photo source Reuters
photo source Jon Gambrell
photo source AP
 

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