“The Bed on the Roof” by Bonnie Black (Gabon)
(The following story is excerpted from the Mali memoir of Bonnie Black, How To Make An African Quilt: The Story of the Patchwork Project of Segon, Mali) By Bonnie Black (Gabon 1996-98) • One afternoon, on the way homefrom teaching a [patchwork quilting] class at Centre Benkady, I stopped at a metalworker’s atelier to ask whether he might make an iron ladder for me that could be attached securely to the front terrace of my house, allowing me to have access to the flat roof. The man, Mr. Dao, agreed, and within a few weeks the sturdy, narrow ladder was installed. Then, as if heaven-sent one Monday morning I saw on my way to the centreville marché, but not yet far from my home, a Malian family from an outlying village conveying on their donkey cart a new, hand-made traditional bed frame made of smooth sticks tied with cowhide . . .
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