Brikama Hotels

Alla la Daaroo: A haven of peace

ALLA LA DAAROO Nature Garden south of Brikama in Bakary Sambouya . A very relaxing spot run, for the benefit of the Jola villagers, by a lovely English lady, Meg Roberton. She has a huge task on her hands and really could use your support. We donated some books to the village school that could use some European sponsorship. We find that some Gambian schools, that are lucky enough to get sponsorship from fine organisations like WYSE, tend to get the tourists to visit. There are many, many more schools struggling to survive on what little hand outs they can beg. It’s heart breaking to see so many truly dedicated teachers and staff earning a twentieth of the wage that our professionals get.

Alla La Daaroo is an eco-lodge, so you don’t get electricity or running water, which helps to make it a wonderful escape from the twenty-first century. We made one big mistake on arriving by bush taxi in Brikama, we forgot the name of the village; thinking Brikama was one of those small towns where everyone knows everybody. Boy, were we wrong, Brikama’s a big crossroads of a town, on route to the Cassamance of Senegal. No one knew where Alla La Daaroo was! Meg had mentioned in an e-mail that she could introduce us to the legendary kora player, Dembo Konte. We couldn’t believe it when a young police officer led two sweaty tourists to Dembo Konte’s house, to ask directions, we prayed he wasn’t in. Thankfully he wasn’t but his equally talented son Jellibah Konte was at home and knew, John, the project manager of Alla La Daaroo, who lived two compounds away!

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Eco-Tourism
• Written December 24, 2006

The wooden deck house

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