daily photo niger

woven blanket

soapstone

One of my favorite things about Niamey: it's not a culture convincing me that I need the perfect cardigan from Brora, the Juno soundtrack, a chair from Anthropologie, an iphone, Jon Fluvogs, a new bag from Coach, and a $50 diptique candle from France to give me just the little boost I need to truly become fully myself. None of the stuff you can buy here is paraded through the New York Times or on any website or even at a bus stop kiosk. Everything worth buying here is handmade by someone, and you have to go out and search for it. In the case of the soapstone carvers, they have a little spot on a corner where they sit on the ground and work. The soapstone work is lovely and most people leave here with at least one piece.