You helped us raise just over $5,500 in online donations via Peace Corps Partnership Program.

Status: Complete

(2) Acquisition of Land 

We are very excited about the piece of land on the northeast end of town. It is being built 200 feet off the main paved road, close to the site of a new large-scale public transportation station (also under construction). It is in a sector of Banfora called Bounouna, a crossroads between the three major Burkina cities of Banfora, Bobo-Dioulasso, and Gaoua. Though this is a few kilometers from the grand market, some are calling this crossroads the "new center of town" for all its recent development. There are even talks to put the new University of Banfora in Bounouna.  The amount of people that pass by this location each day is at least in the thousands, not to mention the population of the city proper is approximately 60,000 people. Update: The location was moved to be 1 kilometer north of the star on this map on the west side of the road.

Status: Complete

(3) Construction 

All contracts have been signed and handshakes have been shook. The masons have agreed to complete half the construction by November 1, 2012 and the second half by February 1, 2013. There are multiple assurances of accountability and regular updates from the mason. Update: The director and mason have decided that in order to ensure structural integrity and durability, they are going to scale down the number of seats in the audience. After the first phase of the project, three crescent-shaped rows with just over 250 seats will be constructed. This is just the estimated minimum, meaning that many more people will fill into the rows in reality. The performance space itself has a much larger capacity for guests to sit on the ground and surround the stage. Here's a peek at the beginnings of construction at the site.

Status: In progress (August 2012 - February 2013)

(4) Further Support

The funds raised will lay the foundation for the amphitheater, but that's not where it ends. The board of directors is continuing to seek out investments/material donations/advice from the community, NGOs, and international people like us to help the center reach its full potential as an tourist-friendly performance venue. Most importantly, they eventually have to build a wall and pay for electricity, a sound system, costumes, set pieces, etc. In the official ten-year plan, there are blueprints for a full green room, a restaurant, and tourist condos to convert the center into a self-sustainable business. 

Establishing the center as a national presence is key: the director Oumar has plans to promote it at various theater festivals and events around West Africa and he has contacts around the country in the theater community whose counsel will feed into building the business. In order to establish the center as a local presence, Oumar is going to formally present the business to various Banfora hotel owners, civil service officials, and leaders tourism to ask for collaboration and investment. This is important to reap mutual benefits and establish an eager leadership board. Before this can happen, however, he has to have something to show them, so we're making pamphlets, cards, a website, etc. We'll also be putting up two or more giant roadside signs with the official logo. Tana has already designed the logo in all its awesomeness, so she'll probably unveil it soon.

We're obsessing over the sustainability aspect of all of this--we're taking our time writing up interior regulations and statutes for the board, registering the center with important official authorities, electing and training initial board members, and setting up venues/opportunities for the community to take the center into its own hands. We're optimistic that this is going to be successful, even without us here, but we're doing everything we can to square away the basics before November. Hopefully, future Peace Corps volunteers in the region can pick up wherever we leave off.

Status: Establishing a presence, building a business, and acquiring material/financial/intellectual support all take time. If anything in particular strikes you as something you can help with (for instance, costume donations, paying for the signs or wall, bringing electricity), please contact us and we'll facilitate a conversation with the board of directors personally.

Here's the project background story to those who walked in late: