Pang’Ono Pang’Ono [Signed]

Self Published Edition of 500
Signed & Numbered
Photography: Laura El-Tantawy
Design: SYB
Production: Jos Morree Fine Books
Lithography, Printing & Binding: Wilco Art Books
Released March 2023

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 28.8 × 19 cm
105 photographs
Hardcover | Half linen with transparent foil emboss
Weight: 600 grams
Normal pages: 220 × 280 mm
Shorter photo pages: 180 × 280 mm
Shorter text pages: 140 × 280 mm

Pang’Ono Pang’Ono explores the emotional and physical toll on women in Malawi in their quest to access clean water.

The title — Pang’Ono Pang’Ono, or “little by little” — is borrowed from a colloquial Chichewa expression referencing time and urging patience, used here to metaphorically reflect on the sentiment around water.

With a population of nearly 21 million people, Malawi is one of the smallest and least-developed countries in Africa. Although the country has an abundance of water — with around 24,404 square kilometres flowing through its fertile land, including Lake Malawi, the third-largest freshwater lake on the continent — providing clean water to every single citizen remains a national problem. One in three people live without it.

Considered a domestic chore, the responsibility of securing water falls predominantly on the shoulders of women. The series was produced over a period of 10 days while working on commission with WaterAid in Malawi.

“Water is something I wake up every day worrying about. I have so many worries — it’s like I have nowhere to run to.”

— Delia Laiford, 56 | Grandmother