Winding Down

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe that I have been in Ghana for nearly two months, it has certainly flown by. My projects are beginning to wind down. I thought I would give you all an update on where the projects are currently at...

Of course there is the fishing village project in the village of Ahwiado. This project moved along nicely for awhile but it has really come to a screeching halt. After our initial visit we worked to develop an itinerary and a script of sorts for our guide Robert. After several visits with Robert we were able to get a lot of interesting stories and facts about the village. The tour is essentially ready for a trial run but I am doubtful whether or not that will happen while I am still here. The guide has been out of town a lot lately and after heavy rains that flooded many of the low-lying villages around here, I imagine that Ahwiado suffered some damage as well. So factors out of my hands have prevented this project from being completed.

Another project involved redesigning a class developed by the World Bank. This class covered the creation of business plans, financial statements, and the loan process. Its primary aim is to get the women's businesses more organized and help them get a loan so that they can expand their business. After some research around local banks and government organizations, credit here is not cheap. A bank rate on a small business loan was upwards of 35%! However, there is a couple of government initiatives that offer loans from 10% - 20% which is a little bit more attainable for the women. We went through the World Bank material and recreated the class so that it would be more relevant to the women of Global Mamas. We ran a trial run with two of the organizations most organized and business savvy women. The class went relatively well and the women seemed to learn a lot that they will actually apply in their businesses, however it still needs some tweaking. So now the format of the class is getting revamped and additional material being added in. Unfortunately, I will not have enough time to see another class through but some new volunteers will be arriving soon to pick up where we left off so I least we will be able to pass the torch on.

Then there is One Stone. This has certainly been my pet project and the one I have probably enjoyed the most. Since it is my pet project there has been a lot of ups and downs. Besides doing some general business consulting of their operations, I have nearly become a business partner. I have spent a lot of time marketing their drums and trying to make contacts for Sam. After an initial mass email to drumming orgs, universities, and percussion retailers we managed to make one valuable contact which looked like it could be fruitful. But after a couple weeks of correspondence now it is looking like a business relationship with One Stone might not blossom. It is really too bad, but given the nature of trying to conduct business on the other side of the world, it really doesn't come as a shocking blow. Sam and his Rasta faith has been refreshing though, everyday is a new day, so we will see what it brings. At the moment I am attempting to sell some of his furniture on EBay. This is all through my account because Sam, being from Ghana, is not recognized by PayPal. There is too much fraud that occurs in this region of the world so it is nearly impossible for him to get approved for anything like that. It is a huge hurdle. Another hurdle is shipping. It is not easy getting a hand-carved, several hundred pound bed frame from Africa to the US. The charges are astronomical for a single item, but becomes much more reasonable if an entire container is filled up. So the EBay thing is a bit of a challenge. The items that will be showing up on there soon have a hefty price tag reflecting the shipping charges. But we are hopeful the right the person will come along. But if not, tomorrow is a new day.

I am off all next week to travel the country. Should be a good little adventure taking me up the Volta on a yam barge, through the drier north, and eventually to a national park complete with the common African wildlife. There should be some good stories, I am looking forward to sharing it with you.

Kumasi and beyond

This weekend I took a little voyage to Ghana's second largest city and the city of the great Ashanti kings, Kumasi. The main draw to the city is its large open air market, supposedly the largest in all of West Africa. Over the course of my travels I have certainly fallen in love with the chaotic, fragrant, and thrilling open air markets. The Kumasi market (called Kenjetia), without a doubt, is the most superb market I have witnessed yet. This place has its own pulse. I would compare the encounter to the deep end of the swimming pool when you are a little kid. It is something that entices you but at first you are a bit intimidated. You stand on the edge looking in, wondering if it is safe to jump in. You finally get the nerve and jump in. You quickly paddle back the edge and crawl out. You are thrilled that you just did that and have the urge to do it again. This time you jump in and swim around a little bit before going back to the edge. It is so great. You finally decide it is time to swim across the pool. You jump in again and swim across the pool and as you crawl back out you are so pleased of what you just accomplished. That is the Kenjetia market. Of course, the water is the market, crawling with people, and the edge is the street that offers a little bit of refuge from the chaos of the market. The market was intimidating at first, but once I got into it, it was a feast for the eyes. There are people from all over West Africa, selling all sorts of stuff, from clothes, to spices, to meat, fish, shoes, to juju and medicinal tribal goods. There is a lot of stuff for sale, and a lot of it I had no idea what it is used for. It is certainly not a tourist market, there were no carved elephants or decorative drums. It was quite the experience.

Besides going to the market, I headed to a nearby lake that was supposedly created by a meteor impact. The main draw to the lake for me was to take a hike along the banks and stroll through semi-remote villages. It was wonderful walking and the villages were pleasant. The people hardly took notice of me, which is how I prefer it. Of course the kids wanted their photos taken or a pen, but for the most part the villagers continued about their business. Another great experience, in totally an opposite way than the market.

Standing on the edge looking in

Juju and medicine

Will work for crayons

Fishing for something

Festival Time in Elmina

Yesterday I got the opportunity to attend the biggest festival of the year in Elmina. People flooded the streets and the banks of the lagoon to take part in and witness the Bakatue festival. This festival starts on the first Tuesday of July, will run through the week and wrap up on Saturday. I heard varying purposes for the festival, from being a celebration from colonial dependence (despite Ghana's independence day is in March) to being a celebration to ring in the new fishing season. I figure it is probably a combination of many things. Nonetheless a fun festival to witness.

Sam (from One Stone) escorted me around the town and made sure I saw all of the appropriate sites. Most people dress up for the festival and me included. Judith sewed up a quite colorful traditional African shirt for me to where around. It was odd though, most of the Africans seemed to dress up more in Western clothes while me, a white man, was dressed up in African clothing! The festival was supposed to be an all day event, but unfortunately due to heavy rains in the morning it didn't kick off til the afternoon. A parade, consisting of several area chiefs, started from the Elmina chief's palace. They slowly marched through the streets carrying the chiefs while drumming and dancing. The parade ended at the fishing lagoon where all sorts of boating spectacles took place. There were several fishing boats in the water performing various stunts. To me, it looked like they were just goofing around. They would rock these big boats from side to side trying to get as far over as possible without flipping the boats. With each rock of the boat people would go flying off into the water. Additionally there were other boats, each sponsored by a company, with several women just singing and dancing on board. In between these acts there would be boat races where two boats would line up, each with about 10 people in them, and they would paddle their boat down the lagoon. There was so much going on and never a dull moment. It was quite amazing how many people were lining the shores and cheering the various boats. For a Montana boy who sure does enjoy the wide open spaces, it was actually a joy to join the crowds, rub shoulders with the locals, and take part in a fascinating festival.

The chief of Elmina

A poor swimmer who forgot it was festival day

Crowded banks of the lagoon