With over 500 evocative photographs and insightful commentary, “Villages of West Africa: an intimate journey across time” reveals the remarkable beauty of the people, land, villages, textiles, and vernacular architecture across seven countries of West Africa, situated between the Sahara Desert and Atlantic Ocean. The book celebrates the artisanship of tribal people who use building methods that are both practical and ingenious and that respond not just to local climate, materials, and topography, but also to the needs of the inhabitants with poetic insight, creating environments that are stimulating and sustainable. With their clarity, function, and beauty, these villages are living models of what community life can be.

“The authors of this book see beauty everywhere and are able to capture the unique beauty of each place. Selected poetry provides velvet touches to this amazing book. The authors talk about the kindness and generosity of the people they encounter on this journey and almost certainly this must be in part because those people respond to the open souls of these travelers.”
—Beverly Abbott, Woodside, California

“This book, another gem by the distinguished and acclaimed architects and world travelers Steven and Cathi House, is a must-have volume. The wonderful photography and informative and poetic descriptions portray their incredible journey to this remote part of the world. Sensitive portraits of beautiful people layered throughout the pages with evocative beautifully composed photos of place and architecture and vibrant markets are absolutely fascinating.”
—Robert J. Geering, Mill Valley, California

“How fortunate I am that Steven and Cathi House traveled and documented a place in the world where most folks would never have the opportunity to visit. The photos will take your breath away, capturing beautiful tribal populations, adorned with their dress, their artful mud dwellings, and their friendly smiles. The quality of the photography is superb, and the informed commentary will please anyone who wants to understand and admire the mysterious beauty of West Africa.”
—Lynda Griffith, San Francisco, California

“Through flourishes of poetry and dazzling imagery, this anthology of West African culture is both a mirror and a looking glass, reminding us of our potential by revealing people, places, and stories that we may have never otherwise known. The ruminations illustrated in this book depict lives thoughtfully and poetically lived, cadenced by handcrafted vernacular architecture that is placed with a soulful precision across the West African landscape.”
—Corey Akers, San Francisco, California

“Another beautiful House book, this one looks at simple villages in West Africa. Text blends history with love of their subject, indigenous architecture, and includes quotes from well-known thinkers and observers. The photos are stunning, combining a studious approach with great affection and lush illustration. A treat!”
—Ellen Abels, Berkeley, California

“Stunning photographs transport you into the depths of West Africa. Steven and Cathi have a genius for capturing the spirit of locations where we don’t have the opportunity to go. If you want to get deep into the region, this masterpiece will bring you there.”
—Jennifer O’Mahony, Glen Ellen, California

“This is a beautiful and insightful book on the villages of West Africa. The photographs are stunning and the writing reveals the history, customs, and an appreciation, understanding, and admiration of these unique cultures. I am writing this as a person who has been to West Africa dozens of times and has a large library of books on Africa. This book is special and I highly recommend it.”
—Beanie Wezelman, Berkeley, California

“Villages of West Africa: an intimate journey across time by Steven and Cathi House is an exquisite, well-designed and informational book rich in detail and color. It explains the history, geography, cultures and daily lives of the people who live there and shows these in superb photos. This book is an exceptional read designed for an audience hoping to gain insights into this intriguing part of the world.”
—Jay Shukert, San Francisco, California

“The photographs are stunning and the text truly enlightening an incredible introduction to the people and architecture of West Africa, a book to treasure!”
—Paul A. Guerin, Mill Valley, California

“Villages of West Africa is a book thick with images of daily life, from along the Niger River as it lazes along the Sahel, through the wild and rich Savannah, to waterways of bustling micro-commerce in the coastal cities of Senegal and the Gulf of Guinea. The book could survive on its photographs alone—ranging from interesting to delightful to haunting to stunning. But interspersed notes on the buildings, the people, and their craft tease with glimpses of the underlying soul of the ancient region.”
—Geof Gainer

“This masterfully written and vibrantly photographed book took me on an extraordinary journey to places I could only dream to be. This book shows intimate portraits, rugged landscapes, rudimentary earthen architecture, colorful markets and the personal effects of these magnificent people and their unique way of life.”
—Karen DeCasseres, Hampton, Virginia

“The Villages of West Africa: an intimate journey across time, by Steven and Cathi House, is a portrait of the core of humanity. Spectacular not just in its photography, but also in the timeless connections made between people and place. The photography reflects a connecting force between the vernacular details of place and shelter, to the intimate articulation of their inhabitants’ faces.”
—Jack A. Davis

“More than a travel or art book, Villages of West Africa: an intimate journey across time is a celebration of culture, art, history and ordinary contemporary life in seven West African countries. The book’s numerous photos are wonderfully curated illustrating the beauty of people, precious historic structures and artisan craftsmanship.”
—Janice Albert, Oakland, California

“As the narrative moves through the geography of West Africa, the book also unfolds the richness of this region’s cultural and historical landscapes - all explored through the architecture and the inhabitants. While exploring the larger events and forces that shape the Villages of West Africa, the book never loses sight of the everyday moments of magic and serendipity that one can experience at a personal scale.”
—Tamanna Tiku, New York, New York

“The contents of this book opens the eyes and minds of its readers to a world within a world with which many have no prior acquaintance, indeed a world beyond their imaginations. As authors of Villages of West Africa: an architectural journey, Steven and Cathi House have literally added dimensions to our general understanding of humanity, for which we should be eternally thankful.”
—Gary Hansen, Tiburon, California

“Cathi and Steven use their architect/artist talents to bring the places they visit and the people they meet to life in their fantastic collection of photographs and descriptions. More importantly, they use their humanist skills to give their readers further insights into these magical far-away places.”
—Ray Quesada, San Francisco, California

“It was with great joy that I discovered Steven and Cathi House’s book - Villages of West Africa. The photography is simply breathtaking. Their ability to walk into villages and environments and to capture people as they truly are - not as we imagine them to be - is second to none. The colors are vivid, the images evocative and I was drawn into every description and story.”
—Kathleen Ryals, San Francisco, California

“In their book, Villages of West Africa, architects and world travelers Cathi and Steven House take a step back from modern grandeur to examine the grass roots of architecture. They take the reader on a fascinating journey where buildings literally grow out of the earth. Steven and Cathi’s exploration of West Africa through thoughtful text and exquisite photography is a journey well worth taking.”
—Jan & Jerry Rife, San Diego, California

“This book is an amazing tour through areas of West Africa seldom seen by outside visitors or tourists, The photography is amazing, the history very well researched and the focus on how the people live is enlightening. The descriptions of how the climate and geography influence how people build homes and provide for themselves is fascinating. Steven and Cathi House have an ability to interact with people of different cultures that leads to an intimacy rarely seen”
—J. R. Elpers, MD, Woodside, California

“The authors, both architects, took Bernard Rudofsky’s 1964 “Architecture Without Architects” to heart, and delved into the authentic local building customs of West Africa. Along the way though, they couldn’t help but document the vital local culture that infuses the region. Vibrant faces, spectacular dress, a bounty of local crafts and natural wonders fill the pages, as well as authentically local architecture.”
—Geoffrey Gainer, San Francisco, California

“This is a beautiful and insightful book on an often overlooked area. The photographs are stunning and the writing reveals the history, customs, and an appreciation, understanding, and admiration of these unique cultures. Included are fabulous photos of dwellings, people, artisans, landscapes, and more, all with vivid descriptions and helpful maps. I am writing this as a person who has been to this area dozens of times and has a large Africana library.”
—Florie Wezelman, Berkeley, California

“This book brings those of us who have never visited or experienced West Africa a sublime gift. This beautiful book creates a phenomenal experience of both learning and seeing the beauty and culture of its people, places, situations, material culture, architecture, landscape -- and more -- of this world. This book can become a way to move towards new, future communities that become their own contemporary versions of this vibrant, vernacular, and sustainable way of life.”
—Marcia Feuerstein, Alexandria, Virginia

“Steven and Cathi House traveled under very primitive conditions to accomplish this magnificent project in which they have captured the extraordinary beauty of the people, the rugged landscape, the variety of expressive forms in the villages, family life, the colorful markets and the traditional architecture of this region. Having spent many years photographing ruins in other ancient civilizations, I can attest to the incredible difficulties they endured to achieve the breadth and depth of words and images captured in this beautiful volume. This book deserves to be on the shelf alongside other excellent volumes documenting Africa and its peoples.”
—Barry Brukoff, Mill Valley, California

“The quality of photographs by Steven and Cathi House is not something that can be taught at photography workshops, but is work that deeply reflects the personal qualities of the photographers themselves. Their curiosity about the architectural ideas of the peoples they visited is manifest throughout. More powerful to me is the warmth and close attention they pay to the portraiture of the men, women and children they encountered on their travels. There is a sense of relaxation in their subjects, of penetrating eye contact, of an unguarded moment in their lives. The photographers’ skill in putting their subjects at ease is inspired.”
—Ian Benham, San Mateo, California

“Architects Steven and Cathi House have traveled the world documenting indigenous architecture and the people who create and live in these remarkable spaces and structures that have so much to teach us about imagination, survival and sustainability. What adds to the power and richness of this magnificent book on West African villages are the vivid, sympathetic photographs not only of dwellings and public structures, but of the people who inhabit them, binding the extraordinary settings to lives lived there.”
—Anthony Robert Cohan, Guanajuato, Mexico