Last days at VEG

Today walking in to the Office, i was thinking how at home i feel when 3 short weeks ago it all seems so overwhelming.

i was thinking about yesterday when i worked with Eddie, the carpenter and Phillip, the welder and realize how differently i looked at everything now.

All the little shops and ateliers have become place with people i am on smiling terms with whereas before all i saw were run-down shacks... All along the road are tiny enterprises..

Linda, the seamstress and her two assistants are busy already at 8 in the morning. I have popped in there to get a dress made ... i bought some batik yesterday for 8 ghana cedis which is about 6 dollars...the dress will cost about the same to be made... I was all measured up and told to come back tomorrow after 2 pm...

Preview of a new funkyFrog necklace!

Rita is one of the head beaders. She is the one who goes off to the market to buy the beads. Also she has done some very beautiful necklaces and earring designs for Lady Volta.

She graciously accepted to be photographed wearing the newest funkyFrog necklace while she was working! She said she would do it if she could wear the necklace for the day.. i felt quite touched.

This necklace is made with a mixture of beads i had brought with me and new ones i have bought here.

I am really looking forward to making lots of new necklaces with the new beads when i get home....

I am also going to work on a new section in the website where i will be selling beads separately so people can create their own masterpieces! Having this exciting new project ahead of me eases the sadness of having to leave here in two days...

Thinking outside the box

The easel just isn't done justice by the photo ... in real life its rustic, roughness is part of its charm.

And i wanted to show the care of the hinged piece of wood for the mirror.

And lastly the bracelet which is made with string we found in the market which has been dyed blue by the Batikers and then made with macrame knots with beads....

Harmattan Winds

The dusty fog gives the landscape a very surreal fealing...

Ghana vs Zambia

All day long the excitement was palpable... Ghana was playing Zambia at 4pm... We went early to the Whitehouse to see the second half... all along the road people were crowded around the available tvs.. the streets were deserted but the noise level had risen sharply!!

We entered the porch of the Whitehouse, the tension was evident in everyone's body language!! No one even spared us a glance.

As the game went on the audience grew. Looking around me, I was touched by the longing and earnestness on their faces as all they silently urged their team on!

We were all rooting for Ghana... and there were many close calls but Zambia was there blocking them at every moment! The two teams were just so evenly matched.... and then Zambia scored!

Since it was quite late in the game, the disappointment came as a shock as everyone groaned, or gasped or some even stomped out arms flailing!! I felt for them but couldn't help but feel a leap in my heart at the heartfelt joy of the Zambians... one of the players did a full somersault ! (I am sure that is why i don't like watching sports; one person's joy is another's sorrow)

This morning when day had dawned the sun was smothered because the harmattan winds which have brought so much dust it is like a fog... the air is thick and heavy. Your throat always feel parched and your nose stuffy. Etienne told me it was thanks to this wind there are fish in the Atlantic... he went on to explain the dust had iron in it which fed the plankton which in turn fed the fish... during a few months of the year the winds blow it in the opposite direction over West Africa ... and it sure doesn't 'feed' us!! It is quite oppressive acually.

The store is looking quite nice but i was on the lookout for an easel on which to stand the wicker square we had hung the earrings on.

I had spied a carpenter just close by to us, each time i had gone by he was working industriously. Of course, this time he was nowhere to be found... nor the next time...

The little shops and ateliers seem to be set up in a very random way... and their hours are very sporadic..

I had spotted another carpenter who made benches and boxes on the way to the market so i thought i would take a chance with him...

Of course, he was not in and the person there said he would return around 10 am.... hmmm!

Defeated i returned to the Office.. but on the way i saw a little atelier that worked with iron and did soldering... and got the brilliant idea of doing the easel in 'wrought iron'! ...very 'in'! i went up to the man who i found out was called Philip. He was obviously very good at his metier ... he didn't blink an eye at my request when i said i would like him to copy the wooden easel (i had found an old, wrecked easel in the Office which is what gave me the idea in the first place..) I spied a curlicue in steel on the ground and asked if i could have two of them as decoration? He was obliging ... the part he couldn't understand was that i didn't want it painted white or black... i liked the look of the funky, rustic steel ... it was going to look rough so let's emphasize it, is my thinking! He said he would have it ready at 4.... So that was a lesson: strike while the iron is hot!!

Next i tried the carpenter again because i wanted to be able to stand the mirror on the counter so people could try on earrings. It had a wire on it to hang on the wall but that was one thing i couldn't seem to figure out: how to put a nail in the cement wall.

This time he was in... again there was that total willingness to do what you wanted.. i explained i wanted a hinge with a stand on the back ... come back in an hour, he said.

We went for lunch. Today it was okra stew and banku. The okra was cooked in a spicy tomato sauce... all of us (the volunteers) were slight squeamish about the almost slimy quality that the okra gave the stew. Clarisse likened it to raw eggs... It was very tasty but it is interesting the look of a food is an integral part ... i was able to eat it, even enjoy it but i don't think i would like to eat it again simply because of the way it looked and felt!!

Once back at the Office i went off just to check on how the easel was going.. thinking if he had any questions or anything he wouldn't be able to contact me... i arrived to a finished product!! And it was wonderful!! I took his name and number in case the Office ever needed something else done... He was pleased that i was happy...

Then i went and checked the mirror and the Carpenter had done a wonderful job as well... It was wonderful the care and energy that they had put into their work... and how they were totally not phased about doing something they had never done before....

My other small accomplishment of the day is I seem to have gotten my fellow volunteer, Clarisse interested in the macrame bracelets. The Batikers have dyed the cotton string we found at the market ... and it makes quite fun bracelets when coupled with the beads... she made her first today ... I am sure by the time she leaves in four months her arm will be full of the friendship bracelets!!

These small accomplishments left me feeling good... Everything here takes so much effort to do.. the heat makes every movement seem like gravity is stronger here... combined with how everything must be made from scratch with the most basic of tools and raw material... things that we take so for granted, like electric drills, for most people: ovens, fridges, or specialty things like hooks that will go into cement ... just don't exist in the every day world here. But this brings out an ingenuity and creativity that is missing at home. I have always enjoyed 'thinking outside the box' ... so for me today was fulfilling and satisfying...



--- eager faces urging on their team!!--

Market Day in Ho

Well... today i could shower to my heart's content and charge the ipad.... no problem.... but there will be no blog tomorrow because the internet is down...

But life goes on...

Today was Market Day in Ho... i walked in to the office and did a side jog through the market...

Last time we had gone it was a Sunday and there was hardly any shoppers or sellers...today it was brimming full of both. The place positively hummed with energy..

It is really a beautiful market... so far my favourite. Perhaps it is simply because i know it so well.. i often walk through on non-market days... there are permanent stalls all through the week ... But today it was quite stunning.. there were rows of fabric for sale... baskets ... fish, fish and more fish ... fruit and vegetables ... nails and hinges ...you name it is there.

Later, just before lunch i brought Clarisse to show her where the market was ... i was a much more animated guide than Bernice was ... i am a bit enthusiastic about markets... but Clarisse actually got it!! It is a place i feel happy ... and she said it was because it was mainly a woman's world! .. and you know! i think she really has a point there. I had asked Dela if he liked markets and he said markets were women's places ...

I looked around with new eyes ... women talking to women, showing each other their wares, helping each other, chatting and talking ... above all, smiling and laughing with each other.

No wonder i felt so at home...

Monday

There was a sense of urgency today ... as i could see the end of my volunteering looming ...

I had been fidgeting about the store front of VEG ... it has that dilapidated air of benign neglect! Everything was a bit dusty and tired looking... but i didn't want to step on anybody's toes.. I had gone at it tiptoeing... suggesting tiny changes but got absolutely no bites...
not even a nibble....

So today i had a strategy... Clarice is a marketing student... i asked her to prep Bernice for me... i found Clarice very impressive when she was talking about the necessary steps: make quality products at a fair price with good advertising.. etc ...

Bernice listened attentively but i could see she just didn't get it so....

I jumped!

I did my whirlwind bit of cleaning up and changing everything around. I figured i would only be there for another week so she wouldn't be mad at me for very long!!

We worked in parallel. .. she did her normal cleanup and i turned the place upside down.

It is fun when you can use a skill that you have. Christianne was very supportive and said to go ahead...

i cleaned the walls .... dusted everything... changed everything around and slowly it started to look fresh and fun...

i went to the market and got some 'props' .... wonderful clay pots, wicker sieves (to hang the earrings) ... i was really in my element....

The best part was Bernice ended up saying to me: ' I wish that you would stay with me here always.' I was so touched... after i had stepped all over her territory she was so kind and generous...

The seamstresses were making my bags today ... which was fun to see!

It was a very good day! i will sleep so well tonight as i expended so much energy!!

Walking home this evening, another thought came how to describe Ghana... tradition or old ways walk side by side with the modern and up-to-date... you will see someone who would not be noticed on a Montreal street... jeans, tshirt and running shoes .... then a woman wrapped in batik with a flashy turban ... all very traditional will walk by!! A person with a big silver bowl full of bananas still on their stalk will walk around a man in dress pants and a white shirt holding a briefcase.... and they accept each other completely...

Perhaps it is what makes one feel so at home here.... the contradiction of life is so on the surface here ... making the deeper contradiction more palatable!!

One thing that is totally straightforward about my stay... the food is fabulous.. our cook is awesome. I will probably kidnap her... (except i will feel bad because she just got engaged last weekend and will be getting married late February... me kidnapping her might throw a spanner in the works!!)

At lunch we had corn that is steamed in banana leaves with a spicy red sauce.....mmmmmm!

Then for supper: something more european, spring rolls with salad.... yum!

We all discuss how we each one of us are going to bring Kafui home with us ... Christianne looks at us darkly...

Also, something else nice about today is that we have been getting some rain so there is a freshness in the air.. although in the middle of the day the heat is quite intense..... early in the morning and around five there is a very nice refreshing breeze happening!!

The last bit of news i wanted to impart is that Ghana won 2-1 over Tunisia last night. I checked this morning ... but it was more a confirmation than anything as the neighborhood really let us know!! each time there was a goal there was a Roar! and we knew when the other team made a goal as well... anger split the air!!!

Plans

The following week will be my last one volunteering with Lady Volta. It is amazing how fast the time has gone. I remember thinking with trepidation, in Montreal, that 5 weeks was such a long time. Now it seems like it is going to be the blink of an eye.

I am definitely just not built in the same way as the youngsters today. Clara said to me when i told her about my plans, 'Mom, you are going all that way why don't you stay for a long time?!' ...so i changed from 4 weeks to 5 and found myself very daring!! Clara is gone for two months. Cathy is here for 3 months, Clarice for 4 and Shoko will be here for 2 years!!! ... i guess i am not that daring at all!!

I have learnt so much though in the two short weeks i have been here. Rome was not built in a day... rather day by day, I keep telling myself. I came here with no expectations but with an idea to bring home beads and volunteer.

The volunteering has surpassed any ideas i could have had. And i will be bring a part of this home with me. I really would like to see if i can have a go at fundraising for Lady Volta in the form of getting their product out in Canada. I like the idea of women in the world uniting to help each other.

Also i have learnt a lot about the Bead Business. I have found out how to locate the beads, to negotiate and buy them and a lot about the beads themselves and their sellers. While here in Ho, i have gone each weekend to the two markets that have beads that are accessible. I have bought quite a few beads, not enough to fill a store by any means.. just enough to seed my idea ... the idea of becoming the Bead Lay and selling beads on the internet first. If the business does take off my next trip will be much easier to plan. In order to really shop for beads I now know things like: one really needs to hire a car and a driver and have a plan in place to ship the beads home. The beads i have bought will fit into a small suitcase but they weigh about 50 lbs!! ... i had not even realized the difficulty just carting the beads around would imply! Also, their weight makes bringing home any significant amount in one's luggage impossible!

I have decided that my next leg of my journey will be more of a fact finder than collecting a lot more beads... I will be going to Kumasi next weekend to the market there. I will only buy beads that are very special but the trip will give me more experience. Also it is in this area that the brass beads are made in Ghana. I would like to see these being made.

Dela and i will travel to Kumasi by tro tro and explore the area for a couple of days with these aims in mind.

Then i will come back to Ho to pick up my luggage and say good by to everyone.

Christianne will bring me and my luggage to Accra. The girls might come with us and we will explore Accra together over the weekend.

Then i will go and check out all the bead markets there in the days before i catch my flight on Thursday, Feb. 23rd.

By the end of my trip, the goal i have set for myself is to feel quite comfortable in the Bead Market world so that if the Bead Lady venture does start to pan out Ghana will be a real and known resource for me.

---- some of my bead stash!!!

The Bead Market

Photos just don't do justice to the markets somehow... I think it is because it is not just one thing that makes up the scene... somehow to take it in you need to use all your senses... and a photo is so one dimensional... the heat, the almost thick air that pillows you, the flashes of colour, the sound...

Cathy is next to me writing her blog, too. She mentions how hard it is to describe it here.. She is trying to describe Ho. Would you understand if i say it is like hundreds of these roadside African villages all mushed together with an occasional city-like building looming up once in awhile? It probably doesn't say anything to you... but the market is like a village on amphetamines!!!

Market Day!

Starting to feel like an old hand at 'going to the market'... but i was still delighted at the thought of the excursion.. Clarice was going with me. It would be her first real sortie out into the Ghanaian world...

Clarice, the newest recruit is a business student from Paris who is doing a 4 month stage here.

So we set off a bit later as it was Saturday to meet Dela at the tro tro station at 9 am. It was bustling as usual but i knew the ropes now ... and looked for the small wooden signboard saying 'Kpong' (which is where we would switch tro tros for Agomanya)

We sat in the 'tin can' like a bunch of cooking sardines ... ha! ha! But once we were on the move the breeze streamed in and cooled our steaming bodies!!

The sights were starting to be familiar.. i recognized the stand of trees that i find so funny.. their trunks widen at the base and then their branches are all quite short + bunched at the top.. so all in all; they look like awkward, pot-bellied men waving their short arms!! ..All the road side stands with their produce: bright red tomatoes, avocados, pineapples and the ever present casava root..

We changed tro tros at Kpong after a quick diversion (...Dela hunted out a hotel for us to use a 'reasonable' washroom!! ...as he said there were lots of options but not all of them would suit us .. we didn't argue!)

Then we caught the other type of tro tro that picks up people along the way... the next part of the road is where a lot of it has been washed out so in the van we were not only baked but shaked!!! ha! ha!

Finally we arrived.. this time we had the luxury of just jumping out of the vehicle and not having to worry about parking..

We set off through the market .. us following Dela who knew exactly where to go... i was straggling behind a bit as i tried to snap some photos..

The first several times through a market it was like my eyes were shy and couldn't light down on anything really... now they had adjusted and i could really take in all the vignettes.. one that was lovely was a very young boy and his mother selling red tomatoes piled high... both of them were wearing these oversized straw hats... on his mother it was large but on the young, slight boy it was gigantic!! He looked so wonderful... i asked him if i could take his picture and he shook his head emphatically 'no!' which i respected...

At the beads, Dela and Clarice left me to wander once they saw the intent look on my face... i was getting the glass Ghanaian beads this time... and these would be hard to choose. These were the beads that in one way were all the same but they were painted all differently!!

When they came back i was still at it. ... choosing and negotiating... finally starting to feel comfortable in my new role as the Bead Lady!

We strolled through the fabric section but i had been totally spoiled by the hand done batik fabrics at Lady Volta... the machine made batiks just didn't appeal to me anymore...

We took another tro tro, this time all the way to the river so we could have a drink and break on its shores... again the spot struck me as so serene and quite cool.. with the water there and everything so green. Clarice is a real water nut and looked longingly at the people swimming..

She went over to talk to them. They were white people who have lived here in Ghana for 9 years... they take medecine in order to be able to swim.. I had imagined it would be somethng like this....

It was getting on so we decided to head back... to realize we were in a bit of a pickle.. we were in a spot where all the tro tros going by were all full.. we queried about the taxi but felt it was too expensive... (compared to the less than three dollars of the tro tro!!... but with hindsight a total deal... but you just get into that mode of when in Rome...) (anyways it was all part of the adventure!!)

We had to go back ... to Kpong which was about 25 minutes backtracking and once there... wait for a tro tro to fill up!! We were hot and tired .... and the waiting seemed very long... i came close to hustling for people to fill up our tro tro!!! ...i was starting to understand more and more ...

Finally, we were on our way... This time an enormous woman stopped our tro tro and a lot of people had to get out so she could get out .... to pee... she hiked up her batiked fabric gown and crouched!! Then it felt like we were surrounded by all these men 'dropping water' (they actually have a hand gesture ... slapping the top of your left hand into your palm and beseeching 'i beg of you i need to drop water' for when they want to stop the tro tro!!!) .. everyone was totally nonchalant about it but for us Westerners it was quite disconcerting!!

And then we were off again...

Clarice had certainly gotten a full adventure for her first day out! She was totally game even though i could see she was hot and exhausted... she was still smiling when we arrived in Ho ... somehow Africa does that for you.


---- Cathy and Christianne are with me on the porch working on their computers. Clarice is next to me reading her kindle... Shoko is inside -----