Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Africa--Flow and ingenuity



Every once in a while i ran into a great article about Africa.Copied from www.smashingmagazine.com its about getting inspiration from different places.

Kampala Uganda

History. The city grew as the capital of the Buganda kingdom, from which several buildings survive, including the Kasubi Tombs (built in 1881), the Buganda Parliament, the Buganda Court of Justice and the Naggalabi Buddo Coronation Site. If you saw the movie “The Last King of Scotland”, you know everything worst about Uganda. Well, the good news is, that was thirty years ago. Since then Uganda has rebounded to become one of the more stable and progressive regions of East Africa. The economy is healthy, the people are lovely and interesting and the equatorial climate is gorgeous! Careful getting around though, the highest cause of death here is automobile accidents!

Getting there. Getting to the capital of Uganda is tricky. First, there are no direct flights in the U.S. Instead, one must fly through a connecting in Europe, Dubai or another part of Africa and then continue to Entebbe International Airport in Entebbe, Uganda. From there the ride to Kampala is only about thirty minutes via hired taxi. Altogether the entire process can take anywhere from 20 to 48 hours.

Natural inspiration. Africa is the home to many wonders of the natural world and this is no different in the country of Uganda. Safaris, wildlife, camping with chimps, gorilla tracking, skiing (yes you can ski in Africa), whitewater rafting and the incredibly friendly people make it one of the most inviting destinations in the whole continent.

Why it will inspire? Flow and ingenuity. You have never found flow like you’ll find it in Africa. Local farmers get completely immersed in creating things out of limited resources, exemplifying two of the fundamental aspects of good design (focus and resourcefulness).

No comments: