The place to Store, Eat, and Keep in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s Capital

On most Saturdays throughout her childhood, MaryAnn Kai Kai would buy groceries together with her household on Rawdon Avenue in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Trend was throughout Kai Kai, who grew up admiring the huge closet of her grandmother, a diplomat’s spouse. “She had all types of African prints and the newest fashions from the U.Ok.,” Kai Kai says.

At the moment, she makes customized caftans and attire below the label Madam Wokie, a reference to her great-great-aunt Madam Wokie Massaquoi, a former member of Sierra Leone’s parliament who as soon as met Queen Elizabeth. Kai Kai has proven her beautiful tie-dyed m’boubou robes on the runways of New York and Lagos and outfitted Idris Elba, the Duchess of York, and the primary women of Angola and Nigeria.

Kai Kai additionally strives to provide again. Through the pandemic, she launched a program to show girls to hand-dye fabric utilizing the gara method, which originated in Indonesia. The fabric patterns that Kai Kai makes use of typically embody cow’s eyes. Final spring, with the assist of the Sierra Leone Financial Diversification Mission, she helped prepare 800 girls throughout the nation to make batiks and beads. At the moment the ladies promote their wares on the seashores exterior city and within the extra distant Banana Islands. 

To discover Freetown’s artistic tradition, observe Kai Kai’s information to the town. 

The place to Keep

“From the veranda of Cole Avenue Guesthouse, within the suburb of Murray City, you’ll be able to see the Atlantic Ocean, and the courtyard is stuffed with fruit timber. “

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The place to Browse Artwork

“One in every of my favourite artists is Hawa-Jane Bangura, who has a by-appointment-only studio in Cockle Bay. Her work explores African historical past, tradition, and id, and he or she actually performs round with colours.” (Above: I Am Not My Hair.) 

The place to Store

“On Malama Thomas Avenue, you’ll find distributors promoting tons of various materials, from Sierra Leone’s gara and kontri fabric to Ghanaian, Nigerian, West African, and even Dutch prints. I additionally prefer to browse carvings, beads, jewellery, and drums at Huge Markit, on Lamina Sankoh Avenue.” 

The place to Eat and Drink

“At Cole Avenue Visitor Home, I order recent juice, like ginger, mango, or hibiscus, the “ros bif” corn tacos, and the spicy jerk goat with plantains and rice. On weekends, all people heads to the nightclub there, Warehouse, to bop and listen to DJs. It has a mixture of all ages. The house owners are two sisters. Many of the employees, together with the bouncers, are girls.”

For one thing downtown, Crown Bakery does an ideal Sierra Leone–fashion jollof rice with fish, beef, and rooster. There’s additionally paintings on the market.” 

The place to Hit the Seaside

“I at all times see locals out within the waves at Bureh, River No. 2, or Tokeh Seaside (seen right here), on the Freetown Peninsula. After a day within the solar, I prefer to hit Franco’s for lobster and oysters — the tables are proper on the sand.”

A model of this story first appeared within the April 2024 challenge of Journey + Leisure below the headline “All Eyes on Freetown.“