Benin

barabom
- word mentioned in email from hk swedish church 18nov19

Iyo is a village in the commune of Bassila in the Donga Department of western Benin. 

Association/Institute
- Africa Rice Center http://www.africarice.org/

company
- erevan (supermarket chain)

• https://www.icij.org/investigations/west-africa-leaks/wanted-honorary-consuls-cash-strapped-african-nations/  On an overcast afternoon in September 2009, Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi raised a pair of golden scissors above a ribbon at the entrance to the sprawling new Erevan superstore in the heart of Cotonou, Benin’s seaside seat of government. Beside him, in a dark suit and sporting a yellow pocket handkerchief was Erevan’s founder, Marcel Tchifteyan. “The land of Benin welcomed me, seduced me, and for more than half a century, I have never left,” Tchifteyan declared. Tchifteyan then accompanied Boni Yayi, who left office in 2016, through the sparkling aisles of one of the largest superstores in West Africa, brushing past packs of bottled water and locally roasted peanuts.  Not far away was Tchifteyan’s son and superstore co-owner, Jean-Luc. Marcel Tchifteyan’s legacy is visible throughout the country. He launched a construction company in the 1950s, followed by West Africa’s first paint business and then, in 2001, a beachfront hotel with tennis courts named “Dad’s House.” He and his son have also accumulated titles. Marcel is an honorary consul representing Armenia in Benin, a ceremonial role that confers little official power, but is an indication of his ties to authorities. Jean-Luc, 57, is an unpaid trade adviser for France, appointed by the prime minister.

- KEA

• china daily 1aug19 startup targeting african healthcare

industry
- cotton

• journal sustainability may2019 on analysis of organic and conventional cotton 

Voodoo festival
- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/weekend/2017-02/04/content_28098865.htm
- china daily 14jan2020 voodoo back from the dead in its west african birthplace

History
- The Kingdom of Dahomey /dəˈhoʊmi/) was an African kingdom (located in the area of the present-day country of Benin) that existed from about 1600 until 1894, when the last king, Behanzin, was defeated by the French, and the country was annexed into the French colonial empire. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by conquering key cities on the Atlantic coast.

• The King of Dahomey (Ahosu in the Fon language) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in the southern part of present-day Benin, which lasted from 1600 until 1900 when the French abolished the political authority of the Kingdom. The rulers served a prominent position in Fon ancestor worship leading the Annual Customs and this important position caused the French to bring back the exiled king of Dahomey for ceremonial purposes in 1910. Since 2000, there have been rival claimants as king and there has so far been no political solution.^[1] The Palace and seat of government were in the town of Abomey. Early historiography of the King of Dahomey presented them as absolute rulers who formally owned all property and people of the kingdom. However, recent histories have emphasized that there was significant political contestation limiting the power of the king and that there was a female ruler of Dahomey, Hangbe, who was largely written out of early histories.

uk
- Exports Minister Graham Stuart MP today announced that UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government’s export credit agency, has provided over £100 million of financing to support the refurbishment of a 114 mile interstate road in Benin. This is a major deal for the UK construction industry in West Africa and is the first transaction supported by UKEF in the country. UKEF will provide a £100 million loan to the Government of Benin in support of a UK contract for construction firm Sogea-Satom, to redevelop the major interstate road, securing business for the UK supply chain. The agreement follows six months on from the Africa Investment Summit that took place in January of this year where the UK committed to being the ‘partner of choice’ for African nations.Total UK exports to Benin were worth £29 million in 2019 and this deal is set to significantly increase that figure during the two years of the road’s development. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-secures-major-contract-for-uk-construction-in-benin

france 
- 法國總統馬克龍委任的專家建議把藝術品物歸原主，愛麗榭宮上周五宣布，向貝寧歸還二十六件藝術品，當中包括王座及雕像。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181126/00180_004.html

• 法國近日一份研究報告主張法國歸還非洲藝術品，巴黎布朗利河岸博物館批評報告，認為應該把這些非洲藝術品留在法國，更廣泛流傳供人欣賞。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181201/00180_023.html

china

- China National Petroleum Corp, the country's largest oil and gas producer in terms of output, has signed a contract with the government of Benin in West Africa to build and operate a crude oil pipeline in the region, the company said in a statement recently.The 1,980-kilometer pipeline, which will start from the Agadem oilfield in neighboring Niger and end at the port of Seme Terminal in Benin, is the biggest investment in a cross-nation oil pipeline that CNPC has made in Africa, the company said.https://www.chinadailyhk.com/articles/224/119/176/1565667634580.html