Kalalikɛla

Intro

In this audio excerpt, taken from Episode 4 of the Baarakètò mini-series, we meet a tailor from West Africa who ran a small, unmarked workshop next to my apartment in Saint-Denis, on the northern edge of Greater Paris.

His story offers a window into a kind of work that’s deeply familiar in West African settings—making clothes to measure—but less visible or legible in broader Western contexts. While tailoring remains popular within the West African diaspora, it contrasts with the more common practice in France and the West  of buying ready-made clothing off the rack. In our conversation, he reflects on his original passion for soccer and how tailoring—pushed on him by his father—was never his dream.

The audio segment is a slightly edited version of our original sit-down interview, condensed for clarity.

Listen

Watch the video without the subtitles. If they are on, click on the little "CC" symbol and turn them off.

Listen and Read

Now turn on the subtitles in Bambara/Jula (click on the little "CC" button) and read along.

If you are lost, you can also switch it into English and then re-watch in Bambara/Jula.

And remember, you can also slow down the video to make it easier to follow along. I recommend 75%. Click on the little gear symbol.

List of Selected Grammar Points

Coming later

Grammar Points Explained

Coming later