The Trail Less Traveled

By Mandela Leola van EedenSociety & Culture

The Trail Less Traveled episodes

February 01, 2020 Planting trees in Africa with a focus on hunter-gathers & elephant conservation.
Doreen stokes lives in Plains, Montana with her husband on 84 acres. She has been a reforestation contractor for over 30 years, planting trees all over the Pacific Northwest. Her greatest passions are surfing, mostly in Costa Rica these days, although she grew up in New Jersey where she started her surfing adventures. Doreen leads safaris in Tanzania, East Africa... where she has initiated tree planting and water projects at the Maasai school in Losirwa. She invites you to join her on safari where you can give back by planting trees on the school grounds. Contact her at: [email protected]

In this episode we talk about how you might go about planting a tree in your area and how it immediately starts to combat CO2 and climate change. Doreen speaks at length about hunter gatherer tribes in east Africa as well as wildlife conservation regarding the plight of the African elephant and rhino. This is a beautiful episode and you'll walk away wanting to start planting trees... be it one tree every year on your birthday or for someone else on their birthday. Before humans starting building cities, 60% of the earth was covered in trees... now less than 30% is and if we continue to turn a blind eye and do nothing - there will be less than 10% of forest on planet earth by 2030. The time for planting trees and being a mindful consumer is NOW.
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52 min
January 21, 2020 Live from the Sahara featuring Nomadic tribes.
This interviews features an in depth look at nomadic life in the largest desert on earth. Featuring men from Arabic, Bedouin, Berber & Tuareg tribes who were born and raised in a nomadic family utilizing camels and constant movement as a way of life. From the games they would play as children while herding goats to the staple items one must have in order to survive, including camel milk, dates, salted meat, wells, celestial navigation, turbans and family. Learn why being a nomad teaches you patience and hospitality. Learn why stress doesn't exist in a nomad's life. This interview will take you into a carpeted tent under some of the tallest sand-dunes in the world during a full moon while the sand-storms blow to the West.

This will forever remain one of my most cherished recordings.
We have so much to learn from how the nomadic tribes survive and exist in the Sahara Desert.
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52 min
January 10, 2020 Berber life growing up in the Sahara Desert.
Mohammed Ait Bahadou was born and raised in the Sahara Desert and now calls Marrakech his home. Mohammed grew up in a mud hut in the desert and sold fossils to tourists before starting his own business running cultural tours around Morocco. Mohammad is fluent in 8 languages including: English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Arabic, Berber & Italian. He has raving fans who are now friends, all over the world. In this interview, Mohammed tells the history of Morocco, Islam, culture, food, table manners and some tips and highlights on Morocco for those who wish to travel there.
For more info check out www.moroccooneearthtours.com
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50 min
January 10, 2020 Streets of Marrakech
This episode features an interview with three individuals from various backgrounds who reflect on culture in Morocco & the Sahara Desert. Mabrouk was born and raised in the Sahara and gives us incredible insight into how nomads use celestial navigation, camels & turbans. Abdul was born in Marrakech and lived 16 years in New York City... he reflects on the differences between culture in the USA & Morocco. Ahmed was born in Oman & has a lot to say about the lack of freedom of speech in Morocco as well as his craving for equality in his country.
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51 min
December 12, 2019 West African Drumming, Cultural Lore and Music Theory with Oumar Keita
Boo Curry is a native of Missoula who graduated from the University of Montana and works as a bird field biologist. Boo has been studying African culture and music for over 14 years. She is one of the founding mothers of Missoula's very own, "Djebe Bara" African dance and music community. For this interview, Boo interviewed her friend and fellow musician, Oumar Keita. Oumar is a native of Guinea, West Africa. He is known for his extensive knowledge of music and history. Oumar showed an interest in traditional music and began singing at an early age. He continues to sing and write traditional music but can also rap in Malinke, Susu and French. Oumar Keita plays traditional instruments like the bolon, gnoni and N’gongoma, which accompany his singing.

Since 2009 he has been a musician in the nationally recognized Ballet Saamato of Conakry, Guinea. Primarily a dundun player, Oumar is also a dancer and djembe player. For the past 2 years, he played with Wofa percussion in Conakry.
To study with Boo and Oumar Keita visit: www.djebebara.com
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55 min
December 10, 2019 Leaving the Republic of Chad in search of education in Montana.
Dara Guedem grew up in Ivory Coast but was born in a small village in Chad. She came to Montana via Senegal in 2007 chasing family & education. It was always been a dream for her family to receive an education in English and Guedem has since graduated from the University of Montana. She continues to live and pursue adventures in Missoula. In this interview, Guedem talks about the history of Chad including personal experiences with civil war and rebels coming into her village. Guedem also shares the emotion of experiencing snow for the first time and a shares a few tips for Africans who are immigrating to the USA
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55 min
November 27, 2019 Tiger Conservation & Cartography; mapping protected areas for the most endangered species in the world.
96% of the mammals on planet earth are livestock and humans leaving only 4% for wild animals. We have lost 83% of all mammals on the planet, these species are not here solely because of humans. 80% of marine animals and 50% of all plants are also lost due to human impact. Elephants, rhinos and lions are just a few species which are also extremely threatened and close to extinction. We have lost 80% of all snow leopards on the planet. There are more tigers alive in captivity in the state of Texas than there are in the world. Scientist have found that for tigers, a 96% decrease in population coincides with a 96% loss of habitat.

There are about 200,000 protected areas in the world which are in various stages of "actual protection". 50% of these protected areas have not yet been mapped... making it harder for these animals to be protected from poaching. The number one problem that these animals are facing right now is poaching. We will discuss the extremely organized black market of wildlife trade. Most tigers are being poached as their body parts are highly valued for non-effective medicinal purposes and "tiger bone wine" in China. 1 in 5 tigers are dying per year from poaching. The most effective tactic is to place armed guards in protected areas to stand guard over these animals. It is truly challenging for rangers to protect endangered species when the protected areas are not mapped as they have to navigate extremely dense jungle and are up against professional and highly armored poaching groups akin to military officers.

Kevin McManigal has intimate knowledge of the modern GIS and cartographic workflow. Employed as a professional cartographer, he is a recognized innovator among his peers at the North America Cartographic Information Society. He teaches cartography as an art form, utilizing GIS and graphics software to produce maps that inform and inspire. He also has extensive travel experience, including mountaineering expeditions to Alaska, Europe, and South America. His field research includes trips to the Sierra Nevada of California, the Himalaya of Nepal and Bhutan, and the Altai of Mongolia, where he studies the dynamics of glacial change.

To learn more about protecting tigers, please visit:
www.panthera.org

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52 min
November 27, 2019 Morocco: a thousand year history, culture, Islam, traditional spices & food.
This interview was recorded in the heart of Marrakesh, Morocco while Mandela was living in Jemaa el-Fnaa, a busy square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter (old city). Jemaa el-Fnaa, literally means "the place of judgement" as it used to be where criminals underwent judgement and potential penalty in the pubic eye. This interview features two young Moroccan men, Moustapha and Saber. Each speaking multiple languages fluently while sharing traditional "Moroccan Whiskey" (Green tea with mint), they explain a thousand year history of Morocco, their culture, Islam, traditional spices, food, tips about traveling in the Kingdom of Morocco and why sugar is the most important ingredient in their tea. This interview will also surprise you in terms of the diverse array of musical selections from these two Moroccans.
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40 min
November 10, 2019 Manifesting Your Dreams and Surfing Around the World with Eddy Goldaracena
Eddy Goldaracena was born in Argentina and moved to the U.S. at a young age. He had his first taste of surfing in New Zealand, which changed the course of his life thereafter. He set his intention of learning how to surf and followed it around the world before getting a "real job" as a financial consultant in Switzerland, NYC and eventually Southern California. Eddy knew that he would travel the world again at a later age and for a decade he set money aside, improved his surfing skills and manifested a trip around the world following culture, human connection and surf breaks. Learn about manifesting whatever it is that you want in this life & chasing your dreams wherever they take you. Eddy is currently on a multi year trip around the world searching for what he calls, "The Perfect Wave."
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47 min
November 10, 2019 Bush Crafting and Subsistance Hunting with a Mountain Man in Morocco
We speak with Joe, a bush crafter and subsistence hunter from a rural setting in Ontario, Canada. Joe elaborates on why it's important to spend time alone in the wilderness and what you can learn from watching animals in the wild. Joe explains how to survive in extreme cold conditions, how to pack for potential survival situations, how to build a shelter fast and how to track animals. Joe takes us on a few epic bow hunting misadventures and explains what he sees out the window in Morocco while recording this episode.
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51 min

About The Trail Less Traveled

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Dedicated to documenting humanity by gathering stories & sounds from the most remote locations around the world. The goal for the show is to take you, the listener, back to mankind's earliest form…