Angola Field Group

December 3, 2009

Thurs December 10 Presentation: Voz doz Anjos Choir

Come celebrate the true spirit of Christmas on Thursday, December 10th at 8:00 PM at the Viking Club, with ‘Voz dos Anjos’, (The Voice of Angels). Singing a capella and accompanied only by the African drum, this choir of 50 young men and women will move you with their joyful sound. Directed by Mestre Jose Mendes, the choir will perform a combo of traditional Christmas songs in Portuguese, French, Kikongo, Kimbundu and Umbundu. Their second CD, Situaluaka II (When We Get There) will be for sale.

The Voz doz Anjos choir at the Viking Club last Christmas.

As with all our presentations, there is no charge, however in the spirit of Christmas, the Angola Field Group will hold a collection with proceeds going to help Angolan refugees fleeing from the Congo. We will hand the funds to the choir who are all members of Second Baptist Church which is working with sister churches in areas bordering the Congo, helping the thousands of refugees there. Also, last chance for some Christmas shopping: Tchokwe baskets from Moxico exclusive at the Viking Club * Irma Domingas’s hand crocheted bags made with re-cycled beer tabs * Angola color photo book in English/Portuguese * Huambo Dolls * hand embroidered linen gift items * Christmas decorations * grown-in-Angola soja * all for sale on Thursday at the Viking Club.

Lead soprano for the choir.

Come celebrate! Everyone is free to join. In close cooperation with the Viking Club, this presentation is offered free of charge. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are sold at the bar. Drink coupons are available for $10.00 AND $20.00 or the equivalent in kwanzas. For a location map of the Viking Club visit the Join Us. The club is on the main floor of the ‘Predio Maianga’ formerly known as the Swedish Building, at Rua Marien N”Guabi, No 118 in Maianga, across the street from the new Panela de Barra restaurant. See you there!

PLEASE NOTE: DETAILS OF OUR NEXT FIELD TRIP POSTED ON THIS WEB SITE. STILL A FEW SPACES LEFT FOR OVERNIGHT TRIP TO WATCH THE TURTLES COME UP AND LAY THEIR EGGS. CONFIRMATIONS WILL BE SENT OUT ON MONDAY.

December 1, 2009

December 11-12: Annual Overnight Turtle Field Trip

On Friday, December 11, the Angola Field Group will camp on the beach for its annual Turtle Trip. We will join biologist Michel Morais and his research team from Agostinho Neto University who for the past eight years have been tracking turtles nesting on Praia dos Onças, the beach below the Miradouro da Lua, south of Luanda.

Olive Ridley Turtle.

We will spend the night walking up and down the beach in teams hoping to find turtles laying eggs or we may be lucky enough to witness the release of newly hatched baby turtles rescued from unsafe nests and incubated by the research team.

Baby turtles head for the water.

We plan to leave the city at 1500 on Friday, to avoid heavy traffic so we can reach the beach in daylight to pitch our tents. Participants must supply their own food and camping gear. A four wheel drive vehicle is necessary. We must keep numbers to a strict limit so please only sign up if you’re serious about going. Final trip details including our meeting location will be given once you’ve signed up.

Setting up for a night on the beach.

When you are registering for this trip please indicate:

* if you have room in your vehicle for more passengers and how many can you take
* if you do not have transport and need a lift
* if you will be leaving from the city or from Luanda Sul

We are collecting $20.00 from each participant to donate to the Turtle Research Project. To register, email Henriette Koning at angolafieldgroup@gmail.com. All Angola Field Group trips are at your own risk.

November 28, 2009

December Angola Field Group events

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Dates to mark on your calendar… Get into the Christmas spirit with the Angola Field Group, December 10 at 8:00 pm, the 40 voice youth choir Voz dos Anjos will sing for us. December 11 to 12: Our annual overnight Turtle Trip. Watch this space for more details.

November 25, 2009

Find out more about the UNHCR on November 26

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Handmade Huambo dolls

Huambo dolls will be on sale at the Angola Field Group presentation November 26th, 8:00 PM at the Viking Club. These dolls are handmade by a women’s cooperative in the province of Huambo, initiated as a means to support families in post conflict situations.

Everybody is invited to attend o ur presentation about the UNHCR in Angola. Last month 50,000 Angolans were expelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is participating in the emergency response to this mass expulsion of Angolan refugees from the DRC and helping the Government plan to bring home the tens of thousands of Angolan refugees that still remain in the DRC and other neighbouring countries. Come and hear the story of this UN humanitarian agency which has been operating in Angola since 1976.

Scroll down this page for more information.

November 20, 2009

Read Pedro Vaz Pinto’s latest Giant Sable report

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Giant Sable (Palanca Negra) bull - "a competent master"

Each month biologist Pedro Vaz Pinto shares news and photos from Cangandala Park on our Giant Sable page.

Resulting from the successful capture operation, the routine has changed dramatically in Cangandala, as our effort is now focused in keeping the animals under surveillance within the fenced area… The females don’t look as fat as they used to when they were captured, but this no reason for concern, as it may be a more natural condition now… More importantly, as probably what everyone wants to know, the bull seems to be a competent master. He is always near the females, leading them in the daily routines, but securing the back and guarding the herd from intruders. The females seem to submit to his guidance naturally and joyfully. They’re in love, and no, I don’t know if they are pregnant yet – we’ll have to wait a few more months!

November 18, 2009

Thursday, November 26 Presentation: UNHCR in Angola – past achievements, current challenges

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The Angola Field Group invites you to: ‘UNHCR in Angola, past achievements and current challenges‘, at the Viking Club, Thursday, November 26, 8:00 PM. The UNHCR – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has been operating in Angola since 1976. As a leading UN operational humanitarian agency, it has assisted Angola to meet the challenges of mass displacement, emergency humanitarian situations, the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of refugees, the establishment of a functioning national asylum system, and the need to develop a modern migration management system. Today, UNHCR is also playing its role in the emergency response to the recent mass expulsion of Angolan refugees from the DRC and helping the Government prepare an operational plan to bring home the tens of thousands of Angolan refugees that still remain in the DRC and other neighbouring countries. The presentation will illustrate the above and how UNHCR works with refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable displaced people not only in theory but in practice.

Bohdan Nahajlo has been the UNHCR Representative in Angola since September 2008. Previously he was UNHCR’s Representative in Azerbaijan and Belarus and worked extensively on forced displacement challenges in the countries of the former Soviet Union. British born and educated, before he joined UNHCR in 1994 he was a writer and a journalist. The author of two books and numerous articles and reports, he was a regular contributor to the Spectator, New Statesman and The Times. He began his professional career after postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics as a Researcher on the USSR for Amnesty International.

Everybody is welcome to attend this presentation. In close cooperation with the Viking Club, this event is offered free of charge. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are sold at the bar, $3.00 each. For sale, books about Angola, in English and just in time for Christmas, Huambo Dolls will be on sale. For a location map of the Viking Club visit our Join Us page. The club is on the main floor of the ‘Predio Maianga’ formerly known as the Swedish Building, at Rua Marien N”Guabi, No 118 in Maianga, across the street from the new Panela de Barra restaurant.

Angolan refugees continue to flee from the DRC. Photo courtesy Yolande Ditewig.

October 27, 2009

Field Notes of the Historic/Architectural Tour of downtown Luanda

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Luanda's Palácio de Ferro, reputedly designed by Gustave Eiffel.

For field notes and photographs taken during the Angola Field Group’s Sunday, October 11 Historic/Architectural Tour of downtown Luanda, visit our website’s History page. Thank you once again to architect Lisa Leal for leading this tour.

October 15, 2009

October 30 – November 2 Field Trip to Huambo

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Angola Field Group members meet the soba of Mount Sumi on their May field trip to Huambo.

***Please note: This trip is now fully booked***
Are you a person who chooses adventure over luxury? Who welcomes the spice of unpredictability here and there? Who craves the balm of fresh air, some exercise and new surroundings inside Angola? If so, head for the hills to Huambo with the Angola Field Group, October 30, 31, November 01, 02 (public holiday).

Friday, arrival in Huambo early evening. It’s approximately a 9 hour drive from Luanda to Huambo. Saturday early morning we will hike from Quissala to the Trapa Sisters’ farm in Soque where we will have lunch and then Sister Manuela will guide us on a tour showing the farm, the medical lab where some traditional medicines, soaps and shampoos are made, and the girls’ school.

Sunday we head off early for Bailundo, 82 kilometers northeast of Huambo to see and learn about this ancient kingdom founded in the fifteenth century and still exists today headed by King Ekuikui IV. (We are still awaiting approval from the palace but in any case an alternative program exists.) Monday early morning departure for Luanda stopping for lunch and shopping in Quibala market.

We will be accommodated in a homestay run by our guide, a Swiss expat who has made Huambo his home for the past 6 years. Meals will be provided by the homestay except one lunch and one dinner. Shared accommodations. Total for the 3 nights per person is approximately $450.00.

* * *All Angola Field Group trips are at your own risk. We will be travelling through 5 provinces so you must have original passport with valid visa with you. A complete itinerary and map will be emailed to confirmed participants. To sign up for this trip or if you have more questions please send an email to Henriette at angolafieldgroup@gmail.com and if you have room for passengers in your vehicle, please advise. * * *

Trying on vintage jackets in Huambo city's big informal market, ‘Mercado Alemanha’ during the May field trip to Huambo.

October 14, 2009

Hiking in Huambo, back by popular demand…

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Hiking in Huambo, back by popular demand , October 30, 31, November 01, 02 (public holiday). Fresh air and exercise in the Planalto and a visit to Angola’s cleanest and possibly nicest city. We will hike up into the hills and tour a farm run by nuns who use local plants for traditional medicine; plus we hope to visit the traditional kingdom of Bailundo. The itinerary is being finalized and will be posted in the next few days. Accommodations and meals will be in a homestay. Flights are available daily Luanda-Huambo or you can self-drive. Limited space.

October 8, 2009

Thurs October 15 Presentation: Giant Sable Capture Operation

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Now finally, the first public presentation in English showing the exciting results of the three-week Giant Sable Capture Operation recently completed in Cangandala National Park, home of Angola’s famous but critically endangered antelope known locally as the palanca negra, Thursday, October 15 at 8:00 PM, at the Viking Club.

Pedro Vaz Pinto checks a giant sable male darted during the Capture Operation. Photo courtesy Barni O'Hara.

Our guest presenters are Pedro Vaz Pinto, Environmental Advisor for the Catholic University Centre for Scientific Studies and Research, and Project Assistant, Biologist Sendi Baptista. For the past seven years Pedro Vaz Pinto has been trying to prove that the giant sable, which exists nowhere else in the world except in the province of Malange did indeed survive civil war, and more recently, cross breeding, and poaching. To see a map of Malange and for more information and photos, scroll down or visit our Giant Sable page by clicking on the link in the menu above or just click here.

Male giant sable being collared for future tracking. Photo courtesy Barni O'Hara.

Everybody is welcome to attend this presentation which will be in English. In close cooperation with the Viking Club, this event is offered free of charge. If you would like to have a map showing the location of the Viking Club, click here. It is on the main floor of the Predio Maianga at Rua Marien N”Guabi, No 118 in Maianga, across the street from the new Panela de Barra restaurant.

Excited villagers gather around military helicopter translocating a male giant sable. Photo courtesy Barni O'Hara.

Excited villagers gather around military helicopter translocating a male giant sable. Read details on Giant Sable link, above. Photo courtesy Barni O'Hara.