PORTO-NOVO (AFP).- A thick layer of dust covered the boxes containing photographer Cosme Dossa's life's work at his family home in Benin's capital Porto-Novo.

Found in no particular order on the floor and on tables, termites had also eaten their way in.

But despite such unpromising conditions, 15,000 negatives were discovered inside, well-preserved in their protective sleeves.

To his family's delight, the boxes contained a pictorial treasure trove of marriages, burials, graduations and everyday scenes from the dying days of colonial rule and early days of independence.

More than 600 black and white prints had to be delicately cleaned with cotton, then mounted on non-acidic paper.

Astonishingly, the Dossa family had little idea what they had in their midst.

"We never knew that these photos would be interesting and contribute to history and the country's heritage," said one of Dossa's sons, Jean-Claude, who still lives at the family home.

Now, his father's work is forming the basis of an archive project that aims to preserve the West African nation's past for generations to come.

Lack of awareness
The man in charge of doing just that is Franck Ogou, a passionate history archivist at the Ecole du Patrimoine African (EPA, school of African heritage) in the administrative capital.

He said Jean-Claude Dossa's ignorance of the value of old photographs was not unusual and persuaded them to collaborate on a programme to save the images for the nation.

"Archiving isn't taken seriously in our country," he complained. "It's disappearing and if archives disappear, so do chunks of Benin's history."

Cosme Dossa, who learned photography on a correspondence course, died in 2003 and for more than 10 years his life's work gathered dust in his studio.

His children "weren't aware of this heritage", he said. 

"His equipment from the time was even sold off. We had to buy it back," he added.

Scenes of life
Everything is now kept safely at the EPA, which is based in one of the few remaining examples of colourful Afro-Brazilian-style houses still standing in Porto-Novo.

One perfectly preserved photo was taken in a studio in 1962 and depicts a man with a proud smile holding his two wives around their waists, all in their smartest local dress for the occasion.

Dossa moved around Benin taking portraits and recording daily life until the late 1970s. The country gained independence in 1960.

In one slightly yellowed frame from 1973, two young girls with Afro hairstyles and dressmakers' tape measures around their necks, flank their boss who is sitting at her sewing machine.

The apprentices hold their certificates tightly while their close relations dressed in loincloths surround them.

"Cosme Dossa got people to pose to bring out their worth," said Ogou. "For me he's one of the best photographers of Dahomey (Benin's name until 1975)."

Rare images
Dossa was also the official photographer of Hubert Maga, Benin's first president after independence from France in 1960.

He can be made out on numbered negatives in a dark suit with tails receiving the French authorities at the governor's palace in Porto-Novo on August 1, 1960 -- independence day.

Ogou maintains these are among only a few images of such ceremonies still in Benin. The others are in France's national archives or private collections in Europe and the United States.

"We have to save our heritage so the generations to come have an idea of the history of our people," he said.

As part of that plan, the huge collection has been digitised for a website aimed mainly at researchers -- www.photoafricaine.org -- before being sent to Benin's national archives.

First the photos, which are fragile in the humid, tropical conditions, have to be preserved.

Lack of funding for heritage bodies has put a brake on the development of archives in Benin, as it has across the rest of Africa.

The EPA, which self-financed its programme with up to 21,000 euros ($23,000), expects 10 other West African countries to have similar private collections.

Money is needed but most of all a recognition of the value of the treasures -- and also the people behind them.

Jean-Claude Dossa said: "The most important thing is that he (his father) is known about and recognised."



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