Camel Meat and Cassette Tapes Part I

Camel Meat and Cassette Tapes is a research project that delved into the rich oral history of Somali communities, preserved and shared through the intimate medium of cassette tapes. From the 1980s onwards, these tapes became lifelines for the diaspora, carrying everyday stories, national milestones, and deeply personal narratives across borders. For many Somali families, cassette tapes are more than relics; they are vessels of memory, emotion, and connection.

The project began when Fozia Ismail (Arawelo Eats), like countless British Somalis, reflected on the tapes that once linked her to relatives back home. Through Arnolfini’s City Fellows programme, she joined forces with Somali artist Ayan Cilmi, alongside Bristol’s Somali elders, to explore this cultural legacy. Over six months, they worked with the city’s Somali community to uncover the enduring significance of these tapes and how they carried not just news of daily life, but also love, loss, and resilience.

The sessions were recorded on cassette tapes and transformed into an immersive 360-degree soundscape, enveloping listeners in the voices, music, and layered histories of Somali women. The piece navigates the tensions of communication across distance and time, bridging generations and geographies.

To preserve and expand this work, Fozia and Ayan formed The Dhaqan Collective. The project first premiered at Arnolfini, where the soundscape was accompanied by poetry and Somali food from Somali Kitchen. Described by Dr. Shawn Sobers (Associate Professor, UWE) as a “brilliant, heart-warming event,” it later reached an international audience through an online premiere. This was followed by a discussion facilitated by Ayan Cilmi, featuring Fozia Ismail and panelists Nadifa Mohamed (award-winning author of The Fortune Men) and Ibrahim Hirsi (co-founder of Waaberiphone, a Somali digital archive).

Camel Meat and Cassette Tapes is more than an archive, it’s a living conversation, celebrating the voices of Somali women and the enduring power of storytelling.​