Restoring Africa's ancient palaces
Restoring our Icons Brick by Brick
My Palace Initiative is a Pan-African initiative to restore, preserve, and stem the loss of Africa's ancient palaces which traditionally served both as community centers and the abodes of the ancestral rulers.
Mission
My Palace Initiative is a Pan-African initiative to restore, preserve, and stem the loss of Africa's ancient palaces which traditionally served both as community centers and the abodes of the ancestral rulers. Restoration of these palaces will bring to prominence past glory and revitalize the social systems once sheltered within their walls, social systems more relevant today than ever.
It is critical for us to rebuild these icons of our cultural legacy. Rebuilding and putting these visual reminders to use is the only way to shed light on the manner in which they once provided meaningful leadership, that is, leadership that enhanced the lives of the citizens. It is critical that our youth see these icons, real and vibrantly alive, on a daily basis. This is one of our many gifts to the world, and it is our obligation to preserve them.
When restored, these palaces will:
- Showcase traditional earthwork architecture
- Reinvigorate historic markets
- Encourage the arts
- Stimulate tourism and local economies
- Serve as a resource for educational programs
- And reinforce the ancient values of African communal life
- Showcase the real and vital roles of women
Archeologists and historians estimate there are thousands of palaces across Africa, and most of them need work. As such, our initiative is a Pan-African one.
A palace “as large as the town of Haarlem”
“The king's palace or court is a square, and is as large as the town of Haarlem and entirely surrounded by a special wall, like that which encircles the town. It is divided into many magnificent palaces, houses, and apartments of the courtiers, and comprises beautiful and long square galleries, about as large as the Exchange at Amsterdam, but one larger than another, resting on wooden pillars, from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and battles, and are kept very clean. Most palaces and houses of the king are covered with palm leaves instead of square pieces of wood, and every roof is decorated with a small turret ending in a point, on which birds are standing, birds cast in copper with outspread wings, cleverly made after living models.”
From the description of a seventeenth century Dutch engraving in Olfert Dapper's Nauwkeurige Beschrijvinge der Afrikaansche Gewesten, Amsterdam, 1668
“My Palace Initiative sounds like an interesting and worthwhile project. I'm glad somebody's thinking about this, because in so much of Africa normally the only large old buildings restored have been the slave forts, and this would be a happy change from that.”
Professor Adam Hochschild, San Francisco
International recognition
In 2005, UNESCO, under Director-General Koichiro Matsumura, recognized the Ifa Heritage Project and presented it with the prestigious Third Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. My Palace Initiative is a similar project and should garner this level of international recognition and support.
In their words
Our support comes from around the world.
“I offer you my support and best wishes...”
Wole Soyinka, 1986 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature
“My Palace Initiative is totally inspired and important in so many ways. I love the idea of bringing to life something of importance that connects people to their past, to tradition, that opens the heart, that is non political..., a way of renewal and envisioning the future all at once.”
Laura Simms, Internationally Recognized Story Teller; Mother of Ishmael Beah
“Very original and necessary.”
Niyi Osundare, NOMA Award Winning Author
“I find MY PALACE INITIATIVE most exciting!”
Ulli Beier, Professor and leading Scholar, African Literature and Culture
“Good idea... You can count on my support. Thanks for remembering the land of our birth. Some of us at home take some initiatives... My shedules are very tight but I pledge my support.”
Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN
“I am happy to have you add me to your list of supporters.”
Charles Henry, Professor, author, Human Rights scholar, leading figure in the Reparations debate, Clinton appointee to the National Council on the Humanities, 1994-2000
“My Palace Initiative is necessary. Architecture and construction are incredibly important parts of any culture, right up there with language, religion and family in importance. Our architecture defines how we live in so many ways. Working with a material that is right at hand and does not have to be manufactured by others somewhere else and transported to the site is a privledge being lost by many people in the world. It is a great freedom to control one's life and not have to depend on others for our needs...”
Quentin Wilson, Professor of Adobe Construction
With thanks
Our support comes from people around the world, and we would like to thank the following for moral and material support.
- Akinsola Akiwowo, PhD author and father of Indigenous Sociology, Alexandria, Virginia
- Professor Olatunde Babawale Department of Political Science, University of Lagos; CEO Center for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CDAAC), Lagos
- Ulli Beier Professor, pioneer and leading scholar in African literature and culture, Sydney, Australia
- Yvette Chalom Social Activist and Philanthropist, Berkeley, California
- Kandioura Drame, PhD and specialist in Francophone African literature, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Kacke Gotrick Professor and author, Lund
- Charles Henry Professor, author, Human Rights scholar, leading figure in the Reparations debate, Clinton appointee to the National Council on the Humanities, 1994-2000
- Randolph Langenbach, M.Arch (Harvard), Dipl. Conservation (York, England) Proprietor of Conservation Technology, Oakland; Consultant to FEMA; Historic Preservation Design & Building Construction Technology Specialist, Oakland City, California; Building Conservation Consultant to UNESCO's Department of Cultural Heritage in 2001-4 and 2007
- Prince Adedotun Layade Proprietor of Dotlay, Inc., Civil Engineers & Contractors, Ibadan/Ile-Ife
- Laura Simms Internationally recognized Story Teller, New York
- Niyi Osundare Professor and award winning author, New Orleans
- Wole Soyinka Nobelist in literature, 1986, Ibadan/Abeokuta
- Keiko Takemura Professor, Swahili/African Studies, Osaka
- Zodwa Tsajwa UNESCO Secretariat, South African National Commission
- Margaret Wilkerson Professor Emeritus (UC Berkeley); Ford Foundation's Media, Art, and Culture Director, Berkeley/New York
- Quentin Wilson Professor and expert in Adobe Construction, New Mexico
- Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN Lagos/Abuja
Who needs palaces?
African palaces were never built just for royalty. They were town halls, hostels, healthcare and spiritual centers — built by the people, for the people.
Read why they matter →The Palace at Ikere
A West African town dating to the 13th century AD, and the palace whose disrepair inspired the whole Initiative.
See the project →Sankofa: a message from our Founder
“Let not this past die on our watch. Let's save it, and save future generations the cost of digging for it.”
Read the message →