Sunday, January 29, 2012
1. Recycling at its best!
Bottles are the basic material for the production of Ghana beads. Depending on the bead the bottle is either broken up into small fragments or pulverized to a fine white powder. The bottles are sorted according to colour, so green glass shards will be a sort of translucent green bead. Two sorts of beads are made from the powder,. For one sort of bead, the white powder is dyed different colours and then these powders are layered to form a pattern. These are called bodom beads and were really used for status... the other bead is made with the white powder, painted afterwards by hand and then refired.
Sunday
Last night i just fell into bed and went to sleep... i just couldn't keep my eyes open another minute!!
Our full day had ended with a visitor, Jerry. He is a volunteer working with handicapped people and an old friend of Christianne's. It was a beautiful evening and we sat out on the porch munching on plantain chips and drinking ice cold beer... a real meeting of nations: Jerry (Scotland) Christianne (France) Cathy (England) Shoko (Japan) and me (Canada) !!!
Later we moved to the table on the porch to eat supper by candlelight... at one point there was a blackout and beyond our flickering candlelight was inky blackness... at another moment the night was suddenly disrupted by a loud roar from the neighbours... Ghana must have scored!
We told Jerry and Shoko about our day.
We had started out in the morning lingering over our coffee. I remember saying to Etienne, back in Montreal, that the one thing i would miss in Ghana would be good coffee. Last time we had this horrible Nescafe and powdered milk... it had been just drinkable..very strange in a country that exports coffee! But this time i had really lucked out ... as i said Christianne is from France ... and we all know how the French feel about their coffee!! She had actually brought her own stash and generously shares it with us.... and we have a Moka pot (an Italian stove top coffee maker) that makes excellent coffee. A bonus is that i have learnt how to use this coffee maker after years of thinking it was just way too complicated for me, au contraire.... it is an amazing elegantly simple machine... i feel very handy these days as i light up the gas stove with a spark maker to make the coffee!!
After breakfast we set off for Agomanya Market. Even in a truck, an hour's drive here is something... the roads are asphalt .... But some of Ghana's potholes rival Montreal's ... and that is saying a lot! ..here during the rainy season whole sections of road can be washed away.
On top of this ... the road runs through villages which are not very far apart... Christianne told us that this is done deliberately so business will come to the villages... There are small stalls with thatched roofs all along the road selling whatever the village produces... Sometimes it is yams which are big rootlike vegetables here... in another village it is pineapples, another, mangos and avocados and okra .. and so on..
The village is located on both sides of the road so people are forever dashing back and forth across the road... and apparently accidents are far too common .... So the government is forever coming up with ingenious new ways to slow down speeding drivers going through the villages. Christianne told us about the time they decided to plant huge cement blocks in the middle of the road that the car would need to swerve around... she said what would happen is people would be driving along at 70 miles an hour at night and suddenly these things would loom up!! anyways they didn't last long ... now they have put in speed bumps! And there is every variation possible... the single large bump, 5 smaller bumps all in a row .... anyways, you are being jostled and bumped 75 percent of the time! I admire Christianne as she never seems phased by anything these roads can throw at her!!
Agomanya is a one of these villages (though larger) that has a market that is one of the nicest in Ghana , the Bradt guide says. ...and in my humble opinion i agree!
It was Market Day so there were dozens of tro tros picking up and dropping people.. the main road was crammed and clogged... The energy and aliveness needs to be experienced to be believed!!
Another thing i have come to understand is that if i don't FEEL like a sore white thumb, i don't stick out so much. I had begun to get this feeling the other day when i deliberately ignored everyone's gawking and instead pretended to fit in. This time i was able to be 'one with' my surroundings with much less effort. I just let everything wash over me, the bright glaring sun, the colours, the shouting and cajoling of the sellers, the kids crying, the red of the tomatoes... the flash of batiked fabric... the 'alivenes' just entered me and i felt at home.
We weaved our way around for awhile... It was a market i had visitied once last time i was in Ghana.. i had photos i had gazed at while dreaming of going back... But the market was so big i couldn't find the bead section... so I picked a studious looking young man who was delighted to show me the way.. he immediately stepped through to the back through some stalls away from the main throughfare and there were the bead stalls!! ... just as i remembered!
The same sellers were there, too! In fact one lady told me she remembered that i had been there before a long time ago and.. she had been waiting for me for a long time!! I believed the part about her remembering me because i recognized her..
The stalls were only about a quarter filled ... because there were a lot of funerals today, i was told. And it was true... we had seen several large gatherings of people all dressed in red and black along the way....
Funerals were a big deal here.. bodies are often kept in the fridge while the village raises enough money for a proper send off.. If the person was 'important' enough this could include many villages involved in the preparation.. Then everyone gets dressed in their finest to celebrate the life of the person with singing and dancing and food.
But for me, this was a perfect introduction to another bead market, having less bead sellers made it less overwhelming ... It was starting to sink in that the idea of importing beads is a lovely one BUT how to go about it?? Which beads did i buy? How many? I am very much a dreamer ... but the the practical aspects of this endeavor keeps shifting and changing with experience...
I pushed all these thoughts aside ... and decided to just assess the market like i had at Kofaridua.
There were two stalls of beads from other African countries... and then there were many stalls of the Ghanaian recycled glass beads..
Once i got my bearings i decided to concentrate on the two stalls with the variety of beads because i knew these beads from buying them myself from various places.... and I decided to have a go at bargaining... i carefully chose strands of beads that interested me, asking for the prices as i went.. i had a small card with the Ghanaian amount converted to Canadian dollars.. it was a slow process but the men were wonderfully patient and not pushy. When i had chosen a little pile that looked like it was from Ali Baba's cave.. lovely ruby red, sea green, golden brass.. i took a deep breath and made my offer .. 100 american dollars.. He pretended to look shocked and brought out his calculator ... But i knew this was a fair price and said 'No, take it or leave it." I pretended to be calm but my heart was hammering away... It is hard to be firm even if you are sure. He capitulated and started wrapping up my treasures. The next negotiation was much easier...
And then i moved on to the stalls selling the Ghana beads..
The Ghanaian recycled glass beads are going to be much harder to choose because there is such a variety but on the other hand they are much the same ... if you know what i mean... it is like trying to choose a fabric. The fabric is cotton but there is an assortment of patterns and colours. The beads i had just bargained for were quite distinct... going with the fabric analogy again..those beads were like buying a bolt of silk fabric, of corduroy fabric and of a jersey knit fabric let's say (and making it easier as well was the fact that the choice of colours and patterns are limited!) ...
I bought some of the tiny waist beads which come in all colours and are 60 cents a strand.. from Elizabeth, who is the lady who remembers me!! This was a good ice breaker as they are so cheap and pretty.... and i got the feeling of bargaining with her!
I could have spent a lot more time at the market but the others were ready to go...so i went off with them vowing to come back again.. my treasures tucked in my bag.
Our next stop was Cedi's Beads. The Nene Nomada family, which runs the bead factory, have been bead makers for 200 years.
Beads play an important role in the Krobo culture of Ghana. The Krobo people, whose spiritual home is the Krobo Mountain, use beads as a symbol of family status, and on special occasions for example; rites of passage (ie puberty).
Cedi, for whom the factory is named, made his first bead at the age of 7. He showed us how the beads are made, which is still pretty much in the same way his ancestors have done for centuries but with small improvements...
I took some photos of the factory which i will include. Each series of photos will be numbered so you can see them in order if you like.... as i have said the layout is very constrained and i don't have a lot of control of which photos show up when for some reason ... but today the order should be Sunday, The bead stash and then the 6 series from the Cedi Factory.. even in the series the photos are out of order..sorry but i just cannot figure out how to take control... but maybe this is a good life lesson!!!
It is quite fascinating to see the painstaking care these beads entail. It makes you appreciate the individual bead much more when you realize the craftsmanship behind them.
Our next stop was for a bite in a restaurant located on the shore of the river. I was delighted to recognize a dish i knew ... boiled plaintains and palava !! It was almost as good as what i had at the house! ... and from the shore of the river there we could see the Adome Bridge, a large suspension bridge that forms one of only two places where cars are able to cross the water..
And lastly, Christianne took us up to see the Akosomba Dam, Ghana's largest dam which provides hydro-electric power. The dam was inaugurated by then President Nkruma in 1966 and hems in Lake Volta, the biggest artificial lake in the world. (From Bradt guide) This area is very green and lush with beautiful flowers like bougainevalea. It is a real oasis especially when you come straight from from dusty, red Ho!
Christianne took us up to the Volta Hotel which is definitely a luxury class hotel even in western terms. The terrace where you can have a meal and drink has a bird's eye view of the dam and lake.. very beautiful..
We couldn't linger as we were to meet Jerry at the Whitehouse to bring him home for supper!!
All in all, a very full and interesting day!
Now, this morning, i am writing the blog with the sound of singing in the background, sitting on the porch where a lovely breeze is blowing.
Lizards scurry back and forth along the top of the cement wall... i smile to myself remembering a moment in town, on Friday i think it was, when i was chasing a lizard with my camera and a man walked by laughing at me .... i chuckled along with him thinking to myself, 'Laugh if you like but i KNOW you would be chasing our silly squirrels trying to take a picture of THEM if the the tables were turned!!' (i will be more tolerant of those tourists in the future!! ..must remember!)
Anyways right now i am much too lazy to think of chasing anything ...
It is a very lazy Sunday morning...
Our full day had ended with a visitor, Jerry. He is a volunteer working with handicapped people and an old friend of Christianne's. It was a beautiful evening and we sat out on the porch munching on plantain chips and drinking ice cold beer... a real meeting of nations: Jerry (Scotland) Christianne (France) Cathy (England) Shoko (Japan) and me (Canada) !!!
Later we moved to the table on the porch to eat supper by candlelight... at one point there was a blackout and beyond our flickering candlelight was inky blackness... at another moment the night was suddenly disrupted by a loud roar from the neighbours... Ghana must have scored!
We told Jerry and Shoko about our day.
We had started out in the morning lingering over our coffee. I remember saying to Etienne, back in Montreal, that the one thing i would miss in Ghana would be good coffee. Last time we had this horrible Nescafe and powdered milk... it had been just drinkable..very strange in a country that exports coffee! But this time i had really lucked out ... as i said Christianne is from France ... and we all know how the French feel about their coffee!! She had actually brought her own stash and generously shares it with us.... and we have a Moka pot (an Italian stove top coffee maker) that makes excellent coffee. A bonus is that i have learnt how to use this coffee maker after years of thinking it was just way too complicated for me, au contraire.... it is an amazing elegantly simple machine... i feel very handy these days as i light up the gas stove with a spark maker to make the coffee!!
After breakfast we set off for Agomanya Market. Even in a truck, an hour's drive here is something... the roads are asphalt .... But some of Ghana's potholes rival Montreal's ... and that is saying a lot! ..here during the rainy season whole sections of road can be washed away.
On top of this ... the road runs through villages which are not very far apart... Christianne told us that this is done deliberately so business will come to the villages... There are small stalls with thatched roofs all along the road selling whatever the village produces... Sometimes it is yams which are big rootlike vegetables here... in another village it is pineapples, another, mangos and avocados and okra .. and so on..
The village is located on both sides of the road so people are forever dashing back and forth across the road... and apparently accidents are far too common .... So the government is forever coming up with ingenious new ways to slow down speeding drivers going through the villages. Christianne told us about the time they decided to plant huge cement blocks in the middle of the road that the car would need to swerve around... she said what would happen is people would be driving along at 70 miles an hour at night and suddenly these things would loom up!! anyways they didn't last long ... now they have put in speed bumps! And there is every variation possible... the single large bump, 5 smaller bumps all in a row .... anyways, you are being jostled and bumped 75 percent of the time! I admire Christianne as she never seems phased by anything these roads can throw at her!!
Agomanya is a one of these villages (though larger) that has a market that is one of the nicest in Ghana , the Bradt guide says. ...and in my humble opinion i agree!
It was Market Day so there were dozens of tro tros picking up and dropping people.. the main road was crammed and clogged... The energy and aliveness needs to be experienced to be believed!!
Another thing i have come to understand is that if i don't FEEL like a sore white thumb, i don't stick out so much. I had begun to get this feeling the other day when i deliberately ignored everyone's gawking and instead pretended to fit in. This time i was able to be 'one with' my surroundings with much less effort. I just let everything wash over me, the bright glaring sun, the colours, the shouting and cajoling of the sellers, the kids crying, the red of the tomatoes... the flash of batiked fabric... the 'alivenes' just entered me and i felt at home.
We weaved our way around for awhile... It was a market i had visitied once last time i was in Ghana.. i had photos i had gazed at while dreaming of going back... But the market was so big i couldn't find the bead section... so I picked a studious looking young man who was delighted to show me the way.. he immediately stepped through to the back through some stalls away from the main throughfare and there were the bead stalls!! ... just as i remembered!
The same sellers were there, too! In fact one lady told me she remembered that i had been there before a long time ago and.. she had been waiting for me for a long time!! I believed the part about her remembering me because i recognized her..
The stalls were only about a quarter filled ... because there were a lot of funerals today, i was told. And it was true... we had seen several large gatherings of people all dressed in red and black along the way....
Funerals were a big deal here.. bodies are often kept in the fridge while the village raises enough money for a proper send off.. If the person was 'important' enough this could include many villages involved in the preparation.. Then everyone gets dressed in their finest to celebrate the life of the person with singing and dancing and food.
But for me, this was a perfect introduction to another bead market, having less bead sellers made it less overwhelming ... It was starting to sink in that the idea of importing beads is a lovely one BUT how to go about it?? Which beads did i buy? How many? I am very much a dreamer ... but the the practical aspects of this endeavor keeps shifting and changing with experience...
I pushed all these thoughts aside ... and decided to just assess the market like i had at Kofaridua.
There were two stalls of beads from other African countries... and then there were many stalls of the Ghanaian recycled glass beads..
Once i got my bearings i decided to concentrate on the two stalls with the variety of beads because i knew these beads from buying them myself from various places.... and I decided to have a go at bargaining... i carefully chose strands of beads that interested me, asking for the prices as i went.. i had a small card with the Ghanaian amount converted to Canadian dollars.. it was a slow process but the men were wonderfully patient and not pushy. When i had chosen a little pile that looked like it was from Ali Baba's cave.. lovely ruby red, sea green, golden brass.. i took a deep breath and made my offer .. 100 american dollars.. He pretended to look shocked and brought out his calculator ... But i knew this was a fair price and said 'No, take it or leave it." I pretended to be calm but my heart was hammering away... It is hard to be firm even if you are sure. He capitulated and started wrapping up my treasures. The next negotiation was much easier...
And then i moved on to the stalls selling the Ghana beads..
The Ghanaian recycled glass beads are going to be much harder to choose because there is such a variety but on the other hand they are much the same ... if you know what i mean... it is like trying to choose a fabric. The fabric is cotton but there is an assortment of patterns and colours. The beads i had just bargained for were quite distinct... going with the fabric analogy again..those beads were like buying a bolt of silk fabric, of corduroy fabric and of a jersey knit fabric let's say (and making it easier as well was the fact that the choice of colours and patterns are limited!) ...
I bought some of the tiny waist beads which come in all colours and are 60 cents a strand.. from Elizabeth, who is the lady who remembers me!! This was a good ice breaker as they are so cheap and pretty.... and i got the feeling of bargaining with her!
I could have spent a lot more time at the market but the others were ready to go...so i went off with them vowing to come back again.. my treasures tucked in my bag.
Our next stop was Cedi's Beads. The Nene Nomada family, which runs the bead factory, have been bead makers for 200 years.
Beads play an important role in the Krobo culture of Ghana. The Krobo people, whose spiritual home is the Krobo Mountain, use beads as a symbol of family status, and on special occasions for example; rites of passage (ie puberty).
Cedi, for whom the factory is named, made his first bead at the age of 7. He showed us how the beads are made, which is still pretty much in the same way his ancestors have done for centuries but with small improvements...
I took some photos of the factory which i will include. Each series of photos will be numbered so you can see them in order if you like.... as i have said the layout is very constrained and i don't have a lot of control of which photos show up when for some reason ... but today the order should be Sunday, The bead stash and then the 6 series from the Cedi Factory.. even in the series the photos are out of order..sorry but i just cannot figure out how to take control... but maybe this is a good life lesson!!!
It is quite fascinating to see the painstaking care these beads entail. It makes you appreciate the individual bead much more when you realize the craftsmanship behind them.
Our next stop was for a bite in a restaurant located on the shore of the river. I was delighted to recognize a dish i knew ... boiled plaintains and palava !! It was almost as good as what i had at the house! ... and from the shore of the river there we could see the Adome Bridge, a large suspension bridge that forms one of only two places where cars are able to cross the water..
And lastly, Christianne took us up to see the Akosomba Dam, Ghana's largest dam which provides hydro-electric power. The dam was inaugurated by then President Nkruma in 1966 and hems in Lake Volta, the biggest artificial lake in the world. (From Bradt guide) This area is very green and lush with beautiful flowers like bougainevalea. It is a real oasis especially when you come straight from from dusty, red Ho!
Christianne took us up to the Volta Hotel which is definitely a luxury class hotel even in western terms. The terrace where you can have a meal and drink has a bird's eye view of the dam and lake.. very beautiful..
We couldn't linger as we were to meet Jerry at the Whitehouse to bring him home for supper!!
All in all, a very full and interesting day!
Now, this morning, i am writing the blog with the sound of singing in the background, sitting on the porch where a lovely breeze is blowing.
Lizards scurry back and forth along the top of the cement wall... i smile to myself remembering a moment in town, on Friday i think it was, when i was chasing a lizard with my camera and a man walked by laughing at me .... i chuckled along with him thinking to myself, 'Laugh if you like but i KNOW you would be chasing our silly squirrels trying to take a picture of THEM if the the tables were turned!!' (i will be more tolerant of those tourists in the future!! ..must remember!)
Anyways right now i am much too lazy to think of chasing anything ...
It is a very lazy Sunday morning...
Friday, January 27, 2012
Breakfast Joint
Remember i had a delicious sweet coffee at a breakfast joint??
Here is the sign for it! Starbucks doesn't come close!
Here is the sign for it! Starbucks doesn't come close!
The Dying Process
Between each stamping of the design in wax the fabric is dyed...first she measures out the dye ... then they put the fabric in the dye.. then they swish the fabric in the dye ...
TGIF (thank goodness it is friday)
Today i decided to wash my clothes... i had just about run out of the unmentionables and everything else...err.... needs freshening up! I turn on the tap and remembered 'ooops..no water'!
Last night after my wonderful day i had come home with a layer of dust and grime coating me...you can imagine, i had fantasized about standing under the shower... only to find there was no water at all!! This apparently happens every so often... actually it happened the first day we arrived (another day i was pretty grimey!) ... which was a Thursday, too... hmmm... is a pattern forming here?..
But don't worry... since this sort of thing happens often there is an alternative set in place... a big bucket full of water is kept near the shower with a small bucket. So... low and behold you have a manuel shower!! it felt delicious sluicing off all the grime. (i blessed Maggie silently)
Anyways back to this morning, i nixed the Washing-woman thing and went for breakfast.
I have cornflakes with tons of fruit diced on top... today i had a whole mango ... and replaced my milk with a fruit smoothie (as there was no milk- the smoothie was better anyway!)
Maggie assured me the water would come soon... no worries.
Maggie is the person in charge of the house. She is a wonderful person and seems to be Christianne's right hand woman...
And sure enough after breakfast the water was coming... so i rolled up my sleeves and went to work.. wow! had to rinse my stuff a couple times....(hey!..not because of me!) Then i hung all my stuff out on the line.
Now hold that thought: my clothes are on the line.....
Off we went to the Office.. went around saying hello to everyone ... popped out to put some money down on my stamps at Jerry's. .. then settled in to work.
I took a break with my camera again to record a bit more of the batiking process.. this time i caught them dying the fabric for the second and third time... The dye is mixed with caustic soda in these big basins... it is quite toxic so they wear masks and big protective gloves... It is quite beautfiul
when they lay out the fabric to dry in the sun...
At lunch time i had opted to stay in town rather than go back to the house. I hadn't ridden my bike as i wanted to to explore on foot a bit.
So i set out... this time i managed to ignore the fact that i was like this white sore thumb sticking out and just ambled around... It was fun... i bought a mango that was picked carefully for me, these funny little new fruits that looked interesting (and which Bernice showed me how to peel and eat later... oooh! sour!!) and some bananas that are half the size as ours but twice as sweet....then, i found some beads guarded by this wizened old lady and fought with her 'viciously' to bring down the price as she was demanding about 50x the normal price as i was a rich 'yevo' (which is 'white' in Ewe..it is not said in a mean way at all).
I had come into the store and saw this little old lady and thought i will buy some beads from her to 'help' her... they weren't even that interesting...but you know how we are... oh, my! it was so funny when i suddenly realized this was no 'sweet' old lady but a very canny negotiator!! A young girl and another woman (probably family) were trying to protect me and tell her to be reasonable but she had seen her meal ticket and wasn't about to let go!! So i got into it with her and we had a lot of fun. She ripped me off but not by a margin i couldn't live with!! :)
Exhausted by an eighty year old, i retired back to the Office.
During the afternoon i managed to get a necklace finished for funkyFrog... It was an interesting mix of african beads and beads from Panama given to me by Andrea and Etienne for Christmas... It had turned out very nice... I thought it would be fun if my new friend Bernice would be the model for it... She is a very lovely young lady...
Later in the afternoon everything had sort of sunk into this torpor... a kind of low buzz... it was so hot and humid! And then there was this BOOM! ... that i recognized...Thunder! Oh! It is going to rain, everyone murmured excitedly...
Do your remember my washing??? Of course, it is going to rain... What was i thinking quite smugly when i was hanging up my unmentionables in the sun? .... of course i was thinking.. 'well, at least i don't have to worry about RAIN here!!' (how provocative is that? (...better than a rain dance!!)
And ... did it rain? It pelted down!! almost like hail the rain drops were so big and hard!! It was wonderful to see the parched earth become wet...
I thought 'Oh, well! my stuff will just get another rinse!!
Finally, it was quitting time ... the excitement i had felt ... tgif... was the ladies off for the weekend! They have a great job but still they are eager to go home!! The babies are wrapped and excited chatter as they get ready t o do!! All of them tell me to have a good weekend and they will see me on Monday!
It seems amazing that i have only known these women for a week and already they have integrated me into their landscape... accepting me ... enjoying me!!
I answer back to them, 'Yes, have a good weekend and i will see you Monday!!
We set off home.. the landscape already looking a bit less dusty ... we arrive home...
and bless her, Maggie has brought in my washing for me!!
Last night after my wonderful day i had come home with a layer of dust and grime coating me...you can imagine, i had fantasized about standing under the shower... only to find there was no water at all!! This apparently happens every so often... actually it happened the first day we arrived (another day i was pretty grimey!) ... which was a Thursday, too... hmmm... is a pattern forming here?..
But don't worry... since this sort of thing happens often there is an alternative set in place... a big bucket full of water is kept near the shower with a small bucket. So... low and behold you have a manuel shower!! it felt delicious sluicing off all the grime. (i blessed Maggie silently)
Anyways back to this morning, i nixed the Washing-woman thing and went for breakfast.
I have cornflakes with tons of fruit diced on top... today i had a whole mango ... and replaced my milk with a fruit smoothie (as there was no milk- the smoothie was better anyway!)
Maggie assured me the water would come soon... no worries.
Maggie is the person in charge of the house. She is a wonderful person and seems to be Christianne's right hand woman...
And sure enough after breakfast the water was coming... so i rolled up my sleeves and went to work.. wow! had to rinse my stuff a couple times....(hey!..not because of me!) Then i hung all my stuff out on the line.
Now hold that thought: my clothes are on the line.....
Off we went to the Office.. went around saying hello to everyone ... popped out to put some money down on my stamps at Jerry's. .. then settled in to work.
I took a break with my camera again to record a bit more of the batiking process.. this time i caught them dying the fabric for the second and third time... The dye is mixed with caustic soda in these big basins... it is quite toxic so they wear masks and big protective gloves... It is quite beautfiul
when they lay out the fabric to dry in the sun...
At lunch time i had opted to stay in town rather than go back to the house. I hadn't ridden my bike as i wanted to to explore on foot a bit.
So i set out... this time i managed to ignore the fact that i was like this white sore thumb sticking out and just ambled around... It was fun... i bought a mango that was picked carefully for me, these funny little new fruits that looked interesting (and which Bernice showed me how to peel and eat later... oooh! sour!!) and some bananas that are half the size as ours but twice as sweet....then, i found some beads guarded by this wizened old lady and fought with her 'viciously' to bring down the price as she was demanding about 50x the normal price as i was a rich 'yevo' (which is 'white' in Ewe..it is not said in a mean way at all).
I had come into the store and saw this little old lady and thought i will buy some beads from her to 'help' her... they weren't even that interesting...but you know how we are... oh, my! it was so funny when i suddenly realized this was no 'sweet' old lady but a very canny negotiator!! A young girl and another woman (probably family) were trying to protect me and tell her to be reasonable but she had seen her meal ticket and wasn't about to let go!! So i got into it with her and we had a lot of fun. She ripped me off but not by a margin i couldn't live with!! :)
Exhausted by an eighty year old, i retired back to the Office.
During the afternoon i managed to get a necklace finished for funkyFrog... It was an interesting mix of african beads and beads from Panama given to me by Andrea and Etienne for Christmas... It had turned out very nice... I thought it would be fun if my new friend Bernice would be the model for it... She is a very lovely young lady...
Later in the afternoon everything had sort of sunk into this torpor... a kind of low buzz... it was so hot and humid! And then there was this BOOM! ... that i recognized...Thunder! Oh! It is going to rain, everyone murmured excitedly...
Do your remember my washing??? Of course, it is going to rain... What was i thinking quite smugly when i was hanging up my unmentionables in the sun? .... of course i was thinking.. 'well, at least i don't have to worry about RAIN here!!' (how provocative is that? (...better than a rain dance!!)
And ... did it rain? It pelted down!! almost like hail the rain drops were so big and hard!! It was wonderful to see the parched earth become wet...
I thought 'Oh, well! my stuff will just get another rinse!!
Finally, it was quitting time ... the excitement i had felt ... tgif... was the ladies off for the weekend! They have a great job but still they are eager to go home!! The babies are wrapped and excited chatter as they get ready t o do!! All of them tell me to have a good weekend and they will see me on Monday!
It seems amazing that i have only known these women for a week and already they have integrated me into their landscape... accepting me ... enjoying me!!
I answer back to them, 'Yes, have a good weekend and i will see you Monday!!
We set off home.. the landscape already looking a bit less dusty ... we arrive home...
and bless her, Maggie has brought in my washing for me!!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A day at the Bead Market!
Today started early... i was waiting at the road for Dela at 7 am ... we went by taxi to the tro tro station.
Here everyone travels in between villages and towns by tro tro, which is a retrofitted mini van... the inside has been redone with rows of benches so that when the van is comfortably full which is quite rare, 15 people can be seated.
You buy a ticket to the town you want to go and then you sit in the tro tro until it is minimumly full ie 15 people. This can take two minutes or as was the case for us this morning 1and a half hours!!!!! Dela had wanted to start even earlier and i understood why... people start earlier when the trip is a long one! Live and learn!
We had time to go to a breakfast joint... which is a tiny shack where breakfast is made... i had a delicious sweet coffee!
Finally we were off... i didn't really notice how long the trip out was because i had a Ghanaian to grill... 'Why do they burn down so much of the green?' 'Acch, this is Africa! No respect for the countryside.' And there were many other questions...
So time flew by... as did the country side... a bit to fast for my liking sometimes...
I was pleased when the villages came as he had to slow down. Especially when all the sellers would swarm us...
Finally we arrived in Kofridua! And a bustling town it is...lots and lot of people shopping... but we got into a taxi again and went further out...
The Bead Market is now in an organized spot with stalls... Since it is not a part of a larger market there were hardly any shoppers..
It was so fantastic to be there... i had dreamt of this moment for ages.. One of those moments i had mocked up since getting back from Ghana five years ago.
It is a wonderful place to find beads.. the sellers are nice and not pushy and actually many of them know a lot about their product. So i had an engrossing several hours perusing all the different stalls...
I had not brought much money.. not really on purpose but it turned out to be a good move... i was able to just tell people it was my first time there and i was getting the lay of the land. Everyone was understanding and explained where the beads came from, what they were made of, etc. It was exactly what i needed.
My head was spinning a bit after the intense concentration.. Dela recommended a fresh coconut... A man on the side of the road hacked open a coconut for me with his machetee... The coconut milk was so refreshing and reviving...
I was ready for the long trip home... and my! it was long! We were all nodding drowsily in the heat... i just hoped the driver had drunk a lot of coffee!! But then he was probably pretty wired on adrenaline maneuvering that van on the hairpin turns up and down the mountains...
During one stop in a village one of the sellers was a young woman with oranges pyramided up on a large round silver tray... She was like an acrobat with those oranges... she would reach up take an orange deftly from the pile , do this fancy thing with her knife which skinned the orange and then place it back in a new pile around the pyramid! It was captivating to watch... i smiled and she was there in a flash outside my window with such a hopeful smile i reached my hand out... up went her hand to the pile snatching an orange and with a flourish and a slice four pieces of orange were in my hand... and it was one of the sweetest oranges i have ever tasted!!
All in all a captivating day! I am going again next week but i will have a Plan before i go!! and a book to read on the way home....
One thing that was a bit strange... i was so living my day today i completely forgot to take a single photo!!
Next time that will be part of the Plan ... take some photos to show you....
Here everyone travels in between villages and towns by tro tro, which is a retrofitted mini van... the inside has been redone with rows of benches so that when the van is comfortably full which is quite rare, 15 people can be seated.
You buy a ticket to the town you want to go and then you sit in the tro tro until it is minimumly full ie 15 people. This can take two minutes or as was the case for us this morning 1and a half hours!!!!! Dela had wanted to start even earlier and i understood why... people start earlier when the trip is a long one! Live and learn!
We had time to go to a breakfast joint... which is a tiny shack where breakfast is made... i had a delicious sweet coffee!
Finally we were off... i didn't really notice how long the trip out was because i had a Ghanaian to grill... 'Why do they burn down so much of the green?' 'Acch, this is Africa! No respect for the countryside.' And there were many other questions...
So time flew by... as did the country side... a bit to fast for my liking sometimes...
I was pleased when the villages came as he had to slow down. Especially when all the sellers would swarm us...
Finally we arrived in Kofridua! And a bustling town it is...lots and lot of people shopping... but we got into a taxi again and went further out...
The Bead Market is now in an organized spot with stalls... Since it is not a part of a larger market there were hardly any shoppers..
It was so fantastic to be there... i had dreamt of this moment for ages.. One of those moments i had mocked up since getting back from Ghana five years ago.
It is a wonderful place to find beads.. the sellers are nice and not pushy and actually many of them know a lot about their product. So i had an engrossing several hours perusing all the different stalls...
I had not brought much money.. not really on purpose but it turned out to be a good move... i was able to just tell people it was my first time there and i was getting the lay of the land. Everyone was understanding and explained where the beads came from, what they were made of, etc. It was exactly what i needed.
My head was spinning a bit after the intense concentration.. Dela recommended a fresh coconut... A man on the side of the road hacked open a coconut for me with his machetee... The coconut milk was so refreshing and reviving...
I was ready for the long trip home... and my! it was long! We were all nodding drowsily in the heat... i just hoped the driver had drunk a lot of coffee!! But then he was probably pretty wired on adrenaline maneuvering that van on the hairpin turns up and down the mountains...
During one stop in a village one of the sellers was a young woman with oranges pyramided up on a large round silver tray... She was like an acrobat with those oranges... she would reach up take an orange deftly from the pile , do this fancy thing with her knife which skinned the orange and then place it back in a new pile around the pyramid! It was captivating to watch... i smiled and she was there in a flash outside my window with such a hopeful smile i reached my hand out... up went her hand to the pile snatching an orange and with a flourish and a slice four pieces of orange were in my hand... and it was one of the sweetest oranges i have ever tasted!!
All in all a captivating day! I am going again next week but i will have a Plan before i go!! and a book to read on the way home....
One thing that was a bit strange... i was so living my day today i completely forgot to take a single photo!!
Next time that will be part of the Plan ... take some photos to show you....
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday
So there was action early this morning as Felix and Kofi came to pick up Cathy for the visit to the villages. They go every week to keep in touch with their 'partners'.
So i found out a bit more about the Loan Business. First the Partner needs to prove she can save money. She must put away 1 cedi per week (which is roughly 70 cents) for a month. Then she can ask for a first loan of about 250 cedis (which is roughly $170). This must be paid back within 6 months. And then they can apply for a larger loan, about double the first. But now they need to have a certain amount of money saved... and on it goes. Really a wonderful idea as it both helps them and teaches them how to spend money and save it!!
I am think of investing... anyone out there who wants to join me let me know!! I have told Christianne i would like to know who i am lending the money to... And she thinks this is a wonderful idea. Right now she does not have individuals investing but rather she fundraises from larger sources. . But this would be such an interesting way to help out.
We spent the morning at the house since Christianne and Shoko had a meeting. I caught up with odds and ends. It was nice to go slower..
I am doing yoga and zazen in the morning so i got to take my time...
Lunch was Red-red and fried Plantain... and it was another keeper!! I am going to ask for the recipe on Friday for the blog (has anyone tried the Groundnut Stew??) ... tomorrow is Bead Market Day!!
Shoko and I rode our bikes into the Office after lunch... oooh! midday... think of melting icecream ...that was me when i arrived!! just a puddle on the floor... a happy one though.
I wanted to get a stamp made like i did last time i was here for funkyFrog so Shoko took me over to a business she thought would do it... It was a silk screening business! It was very cool to see all the screens and designs in such a different setting.... It is very much business orientated. I think they do mainly tshirts and probably for businesses. But they do stamps as well. So we conducted our business... all outside ... next time i will take photos. I think Iris will find it interesting to see an silk screening 'atelier' in Africa!!
In the afternoon, i helped the ladies get the stock ready for Shoko to take to Accra on Friday. She is here with JICA (Japanese International Corp Assoc) The Office sells handicrafts from all around Ghana (free trade style!) There were bags, purses, pants, shirts, etc all made with the beautiful batik fabric made here at the Office that needed special pricing.
It is very hot and muggy today... so by about 4:30 i was feeling more or less wiped... so i gave up and sat on the porch and answered emails... i love getting emails from people! Dan has sold his house and is moving in with his love! Way to go Dan!!...Nolan is settling in and Jazz is behaving!... Hi, Robin!!...
Then it was quitting time... suddenly all the ladies are leaving....rewrapping the baby onto the back, telling me they will see me tomorrow... me saying, No,no tomorrow i go to the Bead Market! Allright. Friday then!! Bye!!
Cathy is going by taxi... Shoko wants to stay and work.... i am left to bike home alone... another first!
Off i go.. and i got to thinking... how would i describe this to you... there is garbage everywhere, it is hot and terribly dusty, everything is dirty .... wow! it sounds horrible, right?
But it isn't .... there is something so vitally alive here. The vibrancy i feel as i bike home is so energizing. Somehow i feel there is an immediacy to life here that we have lost in all our judgements and wants... it is a mystery to me because the contradiction is right in front of my eyes.... i should be horrified by the stream that is polluted beyond imagining...the dust and grit hurts my eyes... but i am beaming! ... and everyone is beaming back.
I only have to ask once and i chose a very, very tall man to ask (i am thinking of my brother, Stephen, i think, something reassuring about a very tall man!) ... he said just keep going... but ask a lot! .... ok,ok... i looked a bit lost but hey! my first bike ride home and believe me this town had NO city planners what so ever!!
After that moment of.. hesitancy..(won't call it panic, as i am trying to be more 'real'..John's training.. he is my other brother..) my ride home was totally smooth...
Waved to the termite castle... said hi! to my friend selling oranges... ignored all the people laughing at me and i was home! ... feeling quite triumphant!
But my adventures were not over... tonight i was determined to go buy beer!
Shoko had told me i could buy beer over there (she waved vaguely in the opposite direction we usually go..) but i needed to bring exactly as many bottles as i wanted...
So i selected two bottles from the garage.. one Star and one Club... and set off..
I crossed over this poor little stream.. ok, i won't describe it to you ( but my son the Ecologist needs to come over here and Do something!!) and there was 'Shalom Spot'.... a tiny little shack with bars on the window..
I approached a bit nervously... and there was a tiny wizened old lady beaming at me... i simply offered her my empties (i had been trained well in the etiquette by my friend, Shoko, you cannot buy a beer without an empty bottle in exchange! ..thank god there had obviously been a lot of thirsty volunteers before me.....) and she solemnly gave me back the exact same brand in exchange, one Star and one Club!!.. Cold from her fridge!!...
Shoko arrived from 'work' with plantain chips which enhanced the already delicious beer tremendously!!
Now i am going to bed early as i have to meet Dela for the trip to the Biggest Bead Market in Ghana early tomorrow...
Goodnight. Sleep tight. I will... it is so quiet here... even the goats are asleep.
So i found out a bit more about the Loan Business. First the Partner needs to prove she can save money. She must put away 1 cedi per week (which is roughly 70 cents) for a month. Then she can ask for a first loan of about 250 cedis (which is roughly $170). This must be paid back within 6 months. And then they can apply for a larger loan, about double the first. But now they need to have a certain amount of money saved... and on it goes. Really a wonderful idea as it both helps them and teaches them how to spend money and save it!!
I am think of investing... anyone out there who wants to join me let me know!! I have told Christianne i would like to know who i am lending the money to... And she thinks this is a wonderful idea. Right now she does not have individuals investing but rather she fundraises from larger sources. . But this would be such an interesting way to help out.
We spent the morning at the house since Christianne and Shoko had a meeting. I caught up with odds and ends. It was nice to go slower..
I am doing yoga and zazen in the morning so i got to take my time...
Lunch was Red-red and fried Plantain... and it was another keeper!! I am going to ask for the recipe on Friday for the blog (has anyone tried the Groundnut Stew??) ... tomorrow is Bead Market Day!!
Shoko and I rode our bikes into the Office after lunch... oooh! midday... think of melting icecream ...that was me when i arrived!! just a puddle on the floor... a happy one though.
I wanted to get a stamp made like i did last time i was here for funkyFrog so Shoko took me over to a business she thought would do it... It was a silk screening business! It was very cool to see all the screens and designs in such a different setting.... It is very much business orientated. I think they do mainly tshirts and probably for businesses. But they do stamps as well. So we conducted our business... all outside ... next time i will take photos. I think Iris will find it interesting to see an silk screening 'atelier' in Africa!!
In the afternoon, i helped the ladies get the stock ready for Shoko to take to Accra on Friday. She is here with JICA (Japanese International Corp Assoc) The Office sells handicrafts from all around Ghana (free trade style!) There were bags, purses, pants, shirts, etc all made with the beautiful batik fabric made here at the Office that needed special pricing.
It is very hot and muggy today... so by about 4:30 i was feeling more or less wiped... so i gave up and sat on the porch and answered emails... i love getting emails from people! Dan has sold his house and is moving in with his love! Way to go Dan!!...Nolan is settling in and Jazz is behaving!... Hi, Robin!!...
Then it was quitting time... suddenly all the ladies are leaving....rewrapping the baby onto the back, telling me they will see me tomorrow... me saying, No,no tomorrow i go to the Bead Market! Allright. Friday then!! Bye!!
Cathy is going by taxi... Shoko wants to stay and work.... i am left to bike home alone... another first!
Off i go.. and i got to thinking... how would i describe this to you... there is garbage everywhere, it is hot and terribly dusty, everything is dirty .... wow! it sounds horrible, right?
But it isn't .... there is something so vitally alive here. The vibrancy i feel as i bike home is so energizing. Somehow i feel there is an immediacy to life here that we have lost in all our judgements and wants... it is a mystery to me because the contradiction is right in front of my eyes.... i should be horrified by the stream that is polluted beyond imagining...the dust and grit hurts my eyes... but i am beaming! ... and everyone is beaming back.
I only have to ask once and i chose a very, very tall man to ask (i am thinking of my brother, Stephen, i think, something reassuring about a very tall man!) ... he said just keep going... but ask a lot! .... ok,ok... i looked a bit lost but hey! my first bike ride home and believe me this town had NO city planners what so ever!!
After that moment of.. hesitancy..(won't call it panic, as i am trying to be more 'real'..John's training.. he is my other brother..) my ride home was totally smooth...
Waved to the termite castle... said hi! to my friend selling oranges... ignored all the people laughing at me and i was home! ... feeling quite triumphant!
But my adventures were not over... tonight i was determined to go buy beer!
Shoko had told me i could buy beer over there (she waved vaguely in the opposite direction we usually go..) but i needed to bring exactly as many bottles as i wanted...
So i selected two bottles from the garage.. one Star and one Club... and set off..
I crossed over this poor little stream.. ok, i won't describe it to you ( but my son the Ecologist needs to come over here and Do something!!) and there was 'Shalom Spot'.... a tiny little shack with bars on the window..
I approached a bit nervously... and there was a tiny wizened old lady beaming at me... i simply offered her my empties (i had been trained well in the etiquette by my friend, Shoko, you cannot buy a beer without an empty bottle in exchange! ..thank god there had obviously been a lot of thirsty volunteers before me.....) and she solemnly gave me back the exact same brand in exchange, one Star and one Club!!.. Cold from her fridge!!...
Shoko arrived from 'work' with plantain chips which enhanced the already delicious beer tremendously!!
Now i am going to bed early as i have to meet Dela for the trip to the Biggest Bead Market in Ghana early tomorrow...
Goodnight. Sleep tight. I will... it is so quiet here... even the goats are asleep.
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