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Thiaroye Market (Marché de Thiaroye-Gare), Senegal Thiaroye Market (French: Marché de Thiaroye-Gare) is one of the largest and most active wholesale and retail markets in the Dakar metropolitan region of Senegal. It is located in the suburb of Thiaroye, within the wider urban area of Dakar, and serves as a key commercial hub for food distribution and everyday goods across the capital and surrounding towns. Location and Urban Setting The market is centered around the Thiaroye railway station (Thiaroye-Gare) along the Dakar suburban rail corridor. Its location places it directly within a dense transport and trading network connecting Dakar with Pikine, Rufisque, and other expanding peri-urban settlements. A defining feature of the market is its integration with rail infrastructure: the commuter train known locally as the “Petit Train Bleu” runs through or immediately adjacent to the market area, reinforcing its role as a transport-linked commercial zone where rail, road, and informal tra...

From the English Commons to Colonial Agriculture: Land, Power, and the Transformation of Food Systems The history of modern agriculture is deeply connected to questions of land ownership, political power, and economic control. From the enclosure of the English commons to the  and later colonial cash-crop systems in Africa and Asia, historians have identified recurring patterns in which communal food systems were transformed into commercial agricultural economies. These transformations reshaped societies, displaced populations, and altered humanity’s relationship to land and survival. The English Commons For centuries, many rural communities in  depended on shared lands known as the commons. These communal lands allowed ordinary people to: graze animals, gather firewood, grow small amounts of food, hunt or fish, and sustain local subsistence economies. The commons were not simply empty land. They represented a social system in which survival was tied to shared access and collec...

The Great Irish Famine: Agriculture, Land Grabbing, and Colonial Power The  remains one of the most devastating humanitarian catastrophes of the nineteenth century. Between 1845 and 1852, approximately one million Irish people died from starvation and disease, while millions more emigrated or were displaced. Although potato blight triggered the immediate crisis, historians increasingly examine the famine not only as an agricultural disaster, but also as a story about land, colonial economics, political ideology, and the restructuring of rural society. For many scholars, the tragedy reveals how agriculture can become entangled with systems of power and extraction. Ireland Before the Famine Before the famine, Ireland was deeply tied to the economic structure of the British Empire. Much of the country’s fertile land produced agricultural goods for export, including: grain, cattle, butter, and pork. Large estates controlled significant portions of the countryside, while millions of poo...

Lorraine Bonner Lorraine Bonner is an American retired physician, wellness advocate, and sculptor known for her work in internal medicine, mindfulness practices, and community-centered approaches to health and well-being. Early life and education Bonner studied medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, graduating in 1977. During her medical career, she specialized in internal medicine and practiced in California for several decades. Medical career As a physician, Bonner worked in the field of internal medicine with an emphasis on preventive health and holistic approaches to wellness. Following her retirement from active medical practice, she became involved in public discussions concerning self-care, mindfulness, meditation, and emotional well-being. Bonner has spoken about the importance of community connection, intentional self-care, and practices such as guided imagery and meditation in supporting physical and emotional health. Artistic work In addition to medicine, Bonner...

Charles A. Bonner Charles A. Bonner is an American civil rights attorney, environmental justice advocate, author, and former activist associated with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He is known for his participation in voting rights campaigns in Alabama, including the Selma movement and the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches, as well as for his later legal work in California involving civil rights, environmental law, and police misconduct litigation. Early life and education Bonner was born in Selma, Alabama, where he grew up during the era of racial segregation in the American South. As a teenager, he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with organizers advocating for African American voting rights. He later attended Sonoma State University in California, where he studied anthropology. Bonner also spent time in East Africa, including Tanzania, where he studied Kiswahili and explored African cultural traditions and social systems. Following his undergraduate st...

Below an article version of the material on John A. Grim and Indigenous Traditions and Ecology . Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: Spiritual Balance in a Changing World In an era marked by climate instability, environmental degradation, and cultural disruption, Indigenous ecological traditions are increasingly being recognized as vital sources of wisdom and resilience. The work of John A. Grim in Indigenous Traditions and Ecology presents a powerful exploration of how Indigenous spiritual traditions offer alternative ways of understanding humanity’s relationship with the Earth. The collection brings together Indigenous leaders, environmental activists, anthropologists, and scholars who examine the close relationship between spirituality, ecology, and cultural survival. Together, they argue that environmental crises are not simply technological or political problems, but also crises of values, worldview, and spiritual disconnection from nature. Indigenous Knowledge as Ecological Wisdom...