NALA at Lake Malawi ( Woodcarving from Samuel Tobias, Mua / Malawi )
One day I was standing at the shore of Lake Malawi and watched the fishermen returning from the lake with their catch. It was 5 in the morning. The sun was just coming up and the sky, with its bright, turquoise-coloured light, was being reflected by the lake.
All of a sudden I felt like I also wanted to try fishing and I went to borrow a logboat from an old fisherman down by the beach who was busy repairing his fishing nets. I was very excited because I had never taken a boat trip before. Carefully I set sail and it felt wonderful to steer the boat with the oar. At the beginning it was rocking quite a bit, but further on the water became calmer and I floated smoothly over the little waves until I came to a little island. I got out of my boat, laid down at the beach and watched the clouds move by.
In the afternoon I went back and was visited by a duck family, whom I told about my adventure on the lake.
Lake Malawi is about 300km long, 50km wide and 600m deep. There are many colourful fish in the lake, which actually taste very well. They mostly catch sardines here, which are being dried on big wooden tables right in the sun and later being eaten with mush. The water from the lake is also being used to do laundry and to wash dishes and bicycles.
Next time I will write you from Tanzania... until then...
Yours NALA
NALA is helping ..... ( Woodcarvings by Levison Lawrence, Mua / Malawi )
NALA´s Story in english is coming very soon. please be patient.
Thank you
NALA carries a lot on her head ( painted by André Pilz in Malawi )
While I am laying at the beach in Zanzibar waiting for an orange juice that I had ordered over half an hour ago, I want to tell you a little more about what happened in Malawi.
After I had told you already what people carry on their bicycles there, I am going to tell you know what women there carry on their heads. It seems almost impossible, but they carry for instance very long fire wood on their heads, sometimes even logs. And children, mostly girls at my age, have to help carrying these heavy things. The boys just sit by the road side and gawp when I pass them on my bicycle. And then they start calling “give me my money” when they see how nice my bicycle is.
I saw women who carried heavy sacks of maize meal, bowls filled with fruit and vegetables, 25 liter water buckets, a pickaxe (when they were returning from the field), bowls filled with dirty dishes (which they carried to the water hole to clean them), bowls filled with dirty laundry (which they wash in the river), sugar cane, bags and luggage …
When you are near a lake or river, they carry baskets filled with fish on their heads; one just has to be careful that a fish doesn't jump out of the basket.
I also saw a few men who carried their tool boxes on their heads, or a TV set, a case of Coca Cola, a box full of one weeks grocery shopping, a box with a chicken that still cackled (usually they hang upside down from a handlebar).
The funny thing is, sometimes these women and girls carry even small items on their heads, so that they don’t have to carry them in their hands, for instance an umbrella, a high heel, a mug, an open school book, a cake of soap, a 5 liter bottle of oil, a banana plant, a plank, 3 single bananas and so on.
Have you ever tried carrying something on your head?! It isn’t easy at all …
I will write again soon … my orange juice is finally here … about time.
See ya …
Yours NALA
NALA is coming...... ( Woodcarving by Samuel Tobias, Mua / MALAWI )
Watch out … out of the way!
Like a tornado I raced down the mountain and that was so much fun!
I passed all those rickety Indian bicycles and in no time they were far behind me. Well, no wonder … because they were loaded with all kinds of things: charcoal, pigs, goats, chicken, logs, water tanks, old grannies and young guys, and even one lady with children and one those flashy phones.
Seriously, she had one baby in front, one baby on her back, and she was talking idly on the phone while the sweaty driver tried to make it up the mountain.
I am sure by now you have figured out that I am telling you about one of my adventures in Malawi.
In Malawi they have way more bicycle taxis than in Zambia. And some of those bicycles are in a very bad state … broken breaks, wobbling rims and in most cases there are several crossings missing or they are simply twisted.
The chains are getting fixed with cobblestones and lost or broken pedals are being replaced with pedals carved out of wood.
But instead, the bicycles in Malawi sometimes have 4 rear mirrors (of those four, two are without glass),
5 lamps (only 2 of those are functioning) and fanciful bended handlebars with 4 handles and 3 bike bells and hoots.
Next time I am going to tell about all the things women can carry on their heads.
Until then!
Yours NALA
latest update: 27.December 2020
NALA in Valencia, Spain (español abajo)
Hello my Friends,
many greetings from Valencia in Spain.
Today I visited ,,Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciéncies,,
( Science Museum) in Valencia, Spain.
The weather can not be better for my little city adventure.
Soon I sent more photos from this amazing City.
Come and visit Valencia.
I wish you all a great week.
Take care and keep in Touch.
Yours NALA
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NALA en Valencia, España
Hola mis amigos,
muchos saludos desde Valencia en España.
Hoy visité la Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciéncies en Valencia, España.
El clima no puede ser mejor para mi pequeña aventura urbana. Mañana les envié más fotos de esta increíble ciudad.
Ven a visitar Valencia.
Les deseo a todos una gran semana.
Tenga cuidado y mantenerse en contacto.
Tuyo NALA
Hello Friends of NALA,
Here I present you another unique NALA Artwork from Ecuador.
Nala explores nature while riding a llama.
The Artist is Mika Játiva from Quito in Ecuador.
Thank you, Mika for this extraordinary Artwork.
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Hola amigos de NALA,
Aquí les presento otra Obra de Arte NALA única de Ecuador.
Nala explora la naturaleza mientras monta una llama.
El artista es Mika Játiva de Quito en Ecuador.
Gracias, Mika por esta extraordinaria obra de arte.
This NALA Artwork is now exhibited at Zeitz Mocaa Art Museum
in Cape Town / South Africa
22. October 2020 till 10. January 2021.
NALA and Graffity Ana by Richard Scott
Richard Scott is a very well known international British artist who lives in Cape Town. He refined my 2013 NALA painting with his Grafitty Ana.
I visited Richard in his studio in Cape Town in 2019.
He was immediately enthusiastic about my NALA Project and enhanced my little NALA painting with his art.
This NALA painting is now hanging from
22. October 2020 - 10. January 2021 in the
Zeitz Mocaa Art Museum in Cape Town in a special exhibition. "Home is where Art is"
A Big "Thank you" goes to Andrea Schachler. She helped me so much, that this Painting found the way to the Art Exhibition at Zeitz Mocaa. Thank you, Andrea.
Hello friends of NALA.
please see Article here: Nala helps
You will surely remember the NALA Corona Art artworks by Joan Otieno from Nairobi, Kenya.
With the help of my NALA Project, the Kenyan Artist Joan Otieno sold small NALA artworks for over 400 euros. (40,000 ksh)
Many thanks to the buyers from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Each sale ensured that everyone had enough rice and beans or corn porridge and vegetables to eat, and the Warembo Wassani Art Center continued to help underprivileged children improve their future.
Unfortunately, these small NALA artworks are still in Kenya and could not yet be sent to Germany due to Corona and high-cost transport costs.
DHL asked for an amount of 300 Euros for 6 kg of recycling art.
If you are flying from Kenya to Germany or Switzerland in the near future, please let me know.
Maybe you can bring the NALA Art package with you.
Thank you for reading.
André Pilz,
The NALA Art Project.
The Ecuador - Peru cyclingtrip is cancelled because of the current CORONA pandemie.
I start as soon as the situation is getting normal and no risc for health and life.
I wish all my friends, website followers and all people i dont know yet, good health and stayed strong.
NALA visits Ecuador and Peru.
www.the-nala-project.com
Long-distance cyclist André Pilz from Kassel, Germany will be visit with his NALA art project the countries of Ecuador and Peru.
André and Nala cycled approximately 16,500 km in 3 years
from South Africa to Ethiopia.
On the road, they met 119 artists from 15 countries, who
supported the Project with more then 160 NALA Artworks.
Now they going to South America and looking for painters
and sculptors support the NALA project.
NALA is a little African girl who had the dream
traveling behind the mountains and escaping from home
to explore the world by bicycle.
The artists tell NALA's travel story through
works of art that are shown in traveling exhibitions.
There have already been 8 Art exhibitions in Africa and Europe.
If you want to participate in the NALA global art project,
write me an email or a message on Facebook.
thelittlenala@gmail.com
FB: TheNalaProject
only 5 more available ( 15 NALA Art Memory sold )
The Nala Project presents,
The NALA Art Memory Game.
#StayHome - limited edition 2020
36 selected NALA artworks by artists from 15 countries now enrich your gamenight at home.
Stay at home and play; The NALA Art Memory Game.
More Infos here: NALA Products
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Das NALA Kunst Gedächtnisspiel.
#StayHome - limited edition 2020
36 ausgesuchte NALA Kunstwerke von Künstlern aus 15 Ländern bereichern jetzt deinen Spielabend zu Hause.
Bleib zu Hause und spiele; The NALA Art Memory Game.
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The Nala Project presenta,
The NALA Art Memory Game.
# quedarse en casa - edición limitada 2020
36 obras de arte seleccionadas de Nala de artistas de 15 países ahora enriquecen tu noche de juegos en casa.
Quédate en casa y juega; El juego de memoria de arte NALA.
NALA ART Booklet ready for Download
The NALA ART Booklet is now available as PDF File for download.
Selected Artists show amazing NALA Artworks from southern and east Africa.
NALA Slideshow video on YouTube
On YouTube you can see the little video, which we shown during the NALA ART Exhibition in Germany.
This Video shows André´s and Nala´s artistic bicycle Journey through Africa.
The titles are in german language, but there are very nice photos to see.
Follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSkB-UHgOeo
It will be lovely if you can leave a comment about the NALA Project here: Opinion about The NALA Project.
Thank you very much
Yours NALA and André
I am currently in: Aarau, Switzerland
Tel. +41 76 823 1367
Email: thelittlenala@gmail.com
Current mission:
+ André and NALA are back in Germany to promote
The NALA Project and their Artists. Searching new Exhibition Space.
Next destination
We will start to our NALA Art Project Cyclingtrip through Ecuador and Peru as soon as Corona Pedemie is over.
Cycled kilometer: 16.425 km
Tourstart by Bike was: Monday April 1, 2013
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