This film made by Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, an English sociologist and philanthropist, documents a trip he took between 1932-33 travelling to different parts of Africa such as Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone. The main purpose of the trip was to procure cocoa, which would be taken back to Yorkshire to make some of the nation's favourite chocolates. The film captures the interworking of Africa's cocoa industry, but also demonstrates Rowntree's particular interest in sociology,...

This film made by Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, an English sociologist and philanthropist, documents a trip he took between 1932-33 travelling to different parts of Africa such as Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone. The main purpose of the trip was to procure cocoa, which would be taken back to Yorkshire to make some of the nation's favourite chocolates. The film captures the interworking of Africa's cocoa industry, but also demonstrates Rowntree's particular interest in sociology, as he keenly films the local people and much of their traditional customs.. Title -`The native handiwork closely resembles ours in principle.' The opening shots of this film show a man using treadle loom and some other locals making clay pots. A procession is then underway; Africans parade down the street playing traditional drums and horns, and there is car driving through the midst. A man exits the vehicle; he is clearly important as he is chaperoned by another man who angles a parasol above his head. The important figure stands before the camera momentarily then heads into a building. The filmmaker then captures several shots of a wild ostrich. Title - Here are the staff of the Cocoa Collecting Station at Ibadan, and a glimpse of how cocoa is dried in the sun. Workers stand around piles of cocoa beans, posing for the camera. They then Rake the beans into neat lines and sieve them. Title - Many of the provinces in Nigeria have their own rulers; here is the Ilafin of Oyo with his principal wives and some of his slaves. The Ilafin of Oyo, an important local official, stands outside a building with a servant holding a parasol above his head. There are then shots of men lining up for the camera and each man is dressed in a smart shawl. Title - Native clerks from some of the cocoa collecting station arrive in Ibadan to present an address to the Company's Chairman and his wife' The native clerks, dressed in smart suits, stand around and pose for the camera. They then meet the company chairman and his wife, who are wearing white suits and matching sun hats. Title - Two strangers cooked their breakfast at this village, and the wind did the rest. A multitude of shots show a village in ruins, still smouldering from the fire. The filmmaker captures locals walking through the ruins; local children pose for the camera and adults looking intently at the destruction. Title - A typical cocoa grower in the district of Ibadan. Village people meet the chairman's wife and pose for the camera. The wife gives something to the people. This followed by more shots of the local children. Title - You needn't go to London for a permanent wave; you can get one done in Nigeria, and here's how! A little girl combs through another girls hair. There is then a lengthy passage that depicts a mud hut village and its residents. There also shots of people riding donkeys through the village. Title - The town of Kano, whose written history goes back as far as 900AD, is surrounded by mud walls 40 feet thick at the base.' The mud walls shown in this sequence are both decorative and impressively high. Men, women and children stand outside the walls of Kano wearing shawls. The filmmaker then gives a taste of the local area; kids looking at camera, playing and ringing out washing, people carrying odds and ends on their heads: predominantly washing. The final shot of this passage depicts soldiers practicing with their swords in a clearing. Title - The train only runs on this line 3 times a week, and it is still a source of interest when it stops at the stations Locals walk down to see the stationary train. Some locals greet people from the train and others talk to passengers. Title - The gum, from which Rowntrees Clear Gums are made, has quite an interesting journey; it comes 5 days laden on camels to the depot of Nguru, which is still 1000 miles from the sea and here it is picked.' Camels walk through the sand laden with gum. Four men then pose for camera in traditional wear. In a clearing, workers get the camels down and unload their goods. Next, there are shots of women sifting through gum, removing any extraneous debris. Title - Nguru is the terminus of the railway. From here, the travellers went on by car with two lorries for their petrol and kit. Title - At Gashura we see Mr Rowntree persuading the natives to collect gum. The members of the company, including Mr Rowntree, sit on deck chairs addressing locals, who sit on the ground - the meeting takes place outside a large hut. Title - After their talk, the natives showed their appreciation by staging a dance. Shots of locals: baby being watched over by her mother, then a man on horseback with a crowd around him. The next sequence shows the dance performance put on by locals and it includes local children dancing to the beats of traditional African drums. Title - For the next few miles after leaving Gashwa, the road was so bad that the luggage had to be `headloaded' in order that the lorries might get along. Locals move crates across opens planes. Title - Crossing the river is quite fun when there is not a bridge. The filmmaker captures a man and horse swimming across the river, followed by a car on a raft propelled by several rowers. Title - `At Geidam, another important Gum Collecting Station, the native chief put on a special show for the visitors.' Soldiers on horseback wave swords in a choreographed fashion. The final sequence shows the soldiers forming a circle in front of the camera, which is then used for more dancing.