2011 – KONDOA – IRANGI UNESCO World Heritage Rock Art Sites -Art & Environment Course at Mnenia village, Tanzania
This course was organized by Seppo Hallavainio, founder of the Rock Art Conservation Center of Tanzania (www.racctz.org) in Arusha. The purpose of the course for local students was to locate, preserve, protect, interpret, and promote Tanzania’s little-known ancient rock paintings, some as old as 20,000 years – situated in a remote area of the country.
In addition to graffiti – deforestation for local wood fuel production is of great concern and woodlands associated with rock art sites serve as natural barriers against the weathering of painted rock surfaces by driving wind-blown sands and rain.
The Art and Environment Course in 2011 (funded by the Finnish Foreign Ministry) was designed for 10 youngsters and 2 assistant teachers from Mnenia Secondary School and who were taught to appreciate and look at their environment with new eyes. Activities included a variety of observation and drawing exercises related to both the local flora, the Rock Art Site figures, as well as creative recycling of card and simple printing techniques on hand-made paper – that could enhance local income.
