“During my visit to this farm, the farmer shared how unpredictable rainfall has reshaped his planting calendar. What used to be a dependable season now feels uncertain, with delayed rains and sudden dry spells. These disruptions not only affect the yield but also the community’s food security. Conversations like this remind us that climate change is not an abstract concept; it is lived daily in the furrows of rural fields and in the resilience of those who continue to farm against the odds.”
'As I lifted my camera, I realised it was not just about framing an image but about learning to see. In that quiet pause before the shutter, I told myself, 'If I can see it, I can capture it, and if I capture it, I can preserve it. What the eye notices, the heart remembers; what the lens records, history keeps. Photography, for me, has become more than documentation; it is an act of care, a bridge between the transient and the enduring, between memory and heritage.”
“My lens captured how houses had replaced trees. We see how population growth and land commodification reshape not only landscapes but also livelihoods; farmland becomes real estate, ecosystems are stripped bare, and food security grows fragile. Where trees once anchored soil and provided shade, now concrete sprawls, pushing communities to adapt, migrate, or struggle with scarcity. This scene is not just urban growth; it was a living testimony of how people, place, and environment are entangled in the changing story of survival.”
“In the Imake community of Benin City, we sat with women potters whose hands carry generations of skill. At the guild, they showed us how clay takes form: wide-mouthed vessels for storing water, slender ones for rituals, and rounded pots for cooking. Each shape held a purpose, each curve a story of continuity between people and place. Watching them, I was reminded that pottery is not only about function but about heritage: a living archive moulded by women’s labour, resilience, and creativity. In these vessels, culture is preserved as tangibly as the water they hold.”
“Under the shade of this tree, I felt more than relief from the sun; I felt the embrace of heritage. In many African communities, such trees are not merely part of the landscape; they are ancestral spaces, where elders gather, disputes are settled, and stories are passed on. Standing there, I imagined how many lives had once found shelter beneath branches like these, how many voices had risen into its leaves. In that quiet, I sensed a continuity that stretched beyond me, a reminder that our connection to land is as spiritual as it is ecological. For a moment, I was not just an observer but a participant in an ancient dialogue between people and place.”
“The MOWAA rammed earth building revives the spirit of Benin’s architecture, where earth was once the primary medium of palaces and compounds. Thick walls of soil offered coolness, resilience, and harmony with the land. Today, this same tradition becomes a tool of climate adaptation, regulating heat, reducing energy use, and grounding modern design in indigenous wisdom. It is both heritage and innovation, showing how the past can guide a sustainable future.”