René Gardi was a Swiss traveller and author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

. He wrote particularly on the handicrafts and architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 of West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

.

Gardi was born 1909 in Bern, Switzerland. After studying mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, and zoology

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

 at Bern University, he became Sekundarlehrer at Brügg BE near Biel

Biel/Bienne

Biel/Bienne is a city in the district of the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.It is located on the language boundary and is throughout bilingual. Biel is the German name for the town, Bienne its French counterpart. The town is often referred to in both...

 from 1931 to 1945, and then worked as independent author and traveler (Vortragsreisender). He documented his travels to Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 in several books and in two films:

• Mandara (1959) and
• Die letzte Karawane (The Last Caravan) (1967).

He won many prizes for literature and in 1967 received an Honorary Doctorate at Bern University.

Gardi died 2000 in Bern.

Publications

• Schwarzwasser, Jugendbuch 1943
• Bergvolk der Wüste, 1951
• Blaue Schleier - rote Zelte, 1951
• Mandara, 1953
• Kirdi, 1955
• Sepik, 1958
• Sahara, 1967

External links