Trail Life with N'nako Kande + The Art of Rooting: Living on a trail...

Hi

It has now been two months since I completed The Art of Rooting (unofficial announcement), and despite the days getting shorter and cooler, and the water being much colder, I am not ready to stay off the trails. Therefore, I am launching this new Blog series to share moments and captures I didn't get to share in the book.

Autumn is my favorite season, so it would be fun to retract my steps and go to the place that inspired me to write the book in the first place.

I haven't decided yet which day of the week will be dedicated to our Trail Life segment, but I am committing myself to sharing a tree a week and some of its benefits.

I invite you to Follow me, N'nako Kande' on TikTok and Instagram for more clips and photos that may or may not be added to this weekly Trail Life Blog series.

The first tree of our Trail Life series is the Shagbark Tree.

When I first spotted it over a year ago, I was very amused by its texture. It made me think of dresses from the Great Gatsby era because of how the bark would hang. It is actually the tree that inspired me to pay more attention to the texture of the rest of the trees in the forest, and eventually led to my growing interest in the benefits of the trees on the trails.

An excerpt from the book and some of the benefits of the Shagbark.

What do you think of the Shagbark? What tree has a texture that you particularly love and why?

Isn't it cool that in addition to being fun to look at some trees also have some special uses and benefits? Do you have a favorite tree that you like for its medicinal benefits or practical use?

Trees do make me reflect a lot on life.

What does the word "root" evoke in you?

What could "trail life" mean to you metaphorically?

Please share your thoughts below and your reviews on Amazon after you enjoy our very special transcontinental hike through The Art of Rooting.

Learn more about this randonnee and our fellow "hikers" aka contributors by reading previous posts.

May this trail — literal or metaphorical — remind you that rooting is not just grounding, but remembering. May nature continue to teach you what clarity feels like.

~N’nako Kandé

If this is your first time here, meet the author, your host, hiker, and cultural storyteller: N'nako Kande

N’nako Kandé is a ceremonial entrepreneur, bilingual poet, painter, illustrator, and multidisciplinary artist whose work lives at the intersection of Nature, Art, and Kulture (N A K). Born in Côte d’Ivoire and shaped by Paris, the American Midwest, and over 20 years in Tennessee and Georgia, she creates through rhythm, ancestry, and the land.

She is the niece of the illustrious and legendary Guinean musician Mory Kanté, whose global influence helped carry West African musical heritage into international consciousness. Her artistic lineage also includes a profound connection to the late Toumani Diabaté, the world‑renowned Malian kora master who was named one of the fifty greatest African artists across media. Toumani, father of French star Sidiki Diabaté, served as the parrain (godfather) of the kora recording in her Self‑Love Blessing project, offering his guidance and blessings before his passing in 2024. His legacy includes two Grammy Awards for his collaborations with Ali Farka Touré and a lifetime of elevating the kora to global audiences.

N’nako is the founder of Kande Kulture, a wearable storytelling brand where each culturally inspired hoodie includes a QR code linking to a YouTube story that explains the meaning and heritage behind the phrase.

A prolific author, she has written over twelve books, including The Art of Rooting, which received the International Impact Book Award. Her creative work spans poetry, photography, painting, mixed‑media illustration, culinary storytelling, and culturally rooted educational coloring books.

Her artistic and cultural contributions have been featured in international documentaries produced in collaboration with Chattanooga Sister Cities, highlighting her global perspective and her commitment to cultural remembrance.

She is also the creator of the Self‑Love Blessing EP (French + English, released January 13, 2023) and the Self‑Love Blessing Trilingual Lyrics & Treasured Memories Book (released June 15, 2024), featuring French, Spanish, and English lyrics, behind‑the‑scenes photos, and stories from the making of the EP.