The EAST AFRICA RESOURCE AND STUDY CENTER, a non-profit Organization, initially installed the “Ordinary Objects – Extraordinary People” exhibit in April of 1998. The enthusiastic public response inspired the creation of a permanent space for the exhibit and programs that help expand cultural awareness and appreciation.

The East Africa Center has completed its move to permanent space at 3809 Pearl Street.

Founded by Bill & Betty Baumann

for more information

 
Program Description • Stories • Exhibit • Contact Information • Links • Events
An extraordinary event occurred in Nairobi, Kenya on May 9, 1995. Following three years of training, a select group of indigenous nomadic herders (pastoralists) from northern and eastern Kenya gathered at the PAA YA PAA Arts center to share their experiences in a Pastoralist forum. This event was the highlight of a material culture project conceived by Kenyan anthropologist Sultan Somjee and the Baumanns who served in East Africa as Mennonite Central Committee volunteers from 1992-1995.

1992-1995. An on-going, Kenya based component of Nomadic Material Culture Resource Centers have further evolved to include ground breaking Peace and Reconciliation activities between tribal groups in Kenya.

Early in the project’s development in East Africa, tribal representatives gathered for a first time inter-change, shared stories of their diverse heritage by using the artifacts that sustain their lives and social order in one of Africa’s most inhospitable environments. This gathering produced the documentation and selection of material culture by the pastoralists themselves, items that would become the “Ordinary Objects—Extraordinary people” exhibition.