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Vilanculos - Poverty & Paradise

It is with great joy that I am finally able to share these images with a much broader audience after many years of them gathering dust in an art portfolio bag. During the early part of the 1990's I worked for a non profit organisation which was involved in humanitarian work in Africa. It was here that I was given the wonderful opportunity not only to travel across this mysterious continents borders, but also to learn the art of photography which was primarily used, at the time, to assist in fund raising for this work.
I will not be showing images of refugees or dying children. As riveting as some of these images are, I don't feel compelled to do so. Those pictures I hope, have truly served their purpose already. Rather I wish to share pictures that have credit I feel, for their artistic value.

I have decided to share these images now (nearly two decades later) for several reasons:

1. What good is a song if it is never sung. You need to experience the beauty and splendor of Africa and her people to truly believe it. On these travels I obviously took a few of my own pictures, the scope of which was at times limited in that I could not always afford the film (for my own shots that is) These were the days before digital cameras and technology. I still remember doing the darkroom work on the Black & White pics. These days everything seems to be digital. Well I guess I just want to share them beyond my family and friends.

2. The whole experience which spanned over a period of four years had a profound effect on me as a person, therefore influencing much of my work years later. I think this was the first creative process I undertook where what I produced had a deeper meaning somehow.
3. I'm sure you will find the journey interesting.

Please note: Much of the film to these photographs I no longer posses. I have scanned in each and every one of these photos, removed dust & scratches - this has taken hours, and at times enhanced the colour. It would give me great joy if you spent some time going through them. At a closer glance you might notice some noise (before pixels came the grain of the film) or the pictures might seem a little faded. I have enhanced them as best I can, but have in no way altered the images themselves.


Part 1: 'Vilanculos' - Paradise & Poverty


My first chapter is centered around a coastal town on the Mozambican coast called Vilanculos. This was one of the first places I visited from this country, with my initial impression being 'a place in Paradise'. Pristine white beaches, littered with palm trees, great weather with the ideal sea water temperature and never ending sunsets. However a trend seemed to eventually follow every beautiful place I encountered - wherever you find paradise, you will also find poverty.

You must also understand the era that I found myself here. Mozambique was a colony of Portugal until 1975, when an 11 year war of independence ended with the establishment of an independent, Marxist government. A 17 year civil war started soon after independence, with an internal military uprising that was supported by some foreign governments. The civil war affected Mozambicans severely, especially in rural areas. By the late 1980s Mozambique had one of the lowest per-capita caloric intakes in the world. It was in this post-war state that I found myself.


I stayed 6 weeks with an associate of mine 20 km inland at a place called Pambarra who was running an orphanage. We were flown in an had to wait to be flown out again. Due to the war there were no roads and no communication, the only form being a telex machine in Vilanculos. You could say we were stranded there. We made frequent trips to Vilanculos, where we sometimes stayed in a beach house over weekends (primitive but cosy)


The primary means to survival on the coast for the locals was fishing. This was done in a way that seemed ancient primitive practice. Boats were made out of logs which were hacked into shape by a hoe type axe, fishing nets were made by hand - there was nothing mechanical. The act of fishing seemed to involve the whole community where many play a part.
One phenomenon was the receding shoreline. When the tide was low it exposed many sand-banks followed by channels - the best place to catch fish it seemed. These sand-banks stretched as far as the closest island - Margaruque which was 11 km away (metric). I was told that you could walk the sand-banks and swim the channels to the island if you felt that adventurous.


Exposed sand-banks revealed many variations of shells ( I still possess a marvelous collection from here) My thinking has changed somewhat over the years though - part of me wishes I could go and return the shells I stole from these waters. I understand that these days, Vilanculos is quite a popular tourist destination - I suspect that the shell count has rapidly depleted since I was last there.
The receding shoreline had its other advantages as-well. The harbour at Vilanculos being far from adequate, larger boats would ground themselves as the tide went out, to offload, and be afloat again when the tide came in.

During my stay in this region I was again given another wonderful opportunity to lodge on the island Margaruque over a long weekend. The contrast was immediately noticeable as this is one of three 'tourist destination' islands off the coast of Mozambique and one is suddenly surrounded with first world facilities and activities.

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