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. Vogue 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.Okay.,” Kai Kai says.

At present, she makes customized caftans and attire beneath 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 girls of Angola and Nigeria.

Kai Kai additionally strives to offer again. Through the pandemic, she launched a program to show girls to hand-dye material utilizing the gara approach, which originated in Indonesia. The fabric patterns that Kai Kai makes use of usually embrace cow’s eyes. Final spring, with the assist of the Sierra Leone Financial Diversification Venture, she helped prepare 800 girls throughout the nation to make batiks and beads. At present the ladies promote their wares on the seashores outdoors 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 possibly can see the Atlantic Ocean, and the courtyard is stuffed with fruit timber. “

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The place to Browse Artwork

“One in all 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 could find distributors promoting tons of various materials, from Sierra Leone’s gara and kontri material to Ghanaian, Nigerian, West African, and even Dutch prints. I additionally prefer to browse carvings, beads, jewellery, and drums at Massive 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 homeowners are two sisters. Many of the employees, together with the bouncers, are girls.”

For one thing downtown, Crown Bakery does a terrific 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 beneath the headline “All Eyes on Freetown.“