So Part 2. It was time to leave Accra and make our way up to Tamale in the Northern Region where we are spending a month studying fieldwork techniques and practices and where we do a mini placement. I just found out that my three day placement will be in the Upper West and my group and I will be analyzing and critiquing the Ghana School Feeding Programme. In Ghana, there is an initiative to increase school enrolment, especially in primary schools and as a result the government is supposed to provide one hot, nutritious meal to every student. There are problems with the implementation of the programme, however, so my group and I will spend three days in a rural community doing fieldwork to examine the effectiveness of the programme. I am so excited! I can’t wait to see how to apply development theory to practice and see if I could do this sort of work as a career once I am done school. Enough of that, I will fill you in on how it goes and take lots of pictures!
So the trip from Accra to Tamale was one of the most exciting trips that I have ever been on but also very tiring. We did so many things. We left on Sunday and got there on Friday. After leaving Accra the first stop was Kumasi about halfway between Accra and Tamale. This was the furthest north that I had been yet and I had heard such good things about going up North. I was told that it was completely different from Accra and I couldn’t wait to see another part of Ghana, despite the warnings about the heat. Kumasi is a large city, nowhere near as big as Accra but still quite large and busy. We got there late at night so we just checked in and went to bed. The next morning we had an NGO fair (a collection of prospective NGO’s come to tell us about their NGO) and then we visited an artisan village to see how they make a traditional cloth called Kente. They use traditional, wooden machines but they are so quick. I tried and it was really hard. I was good though so I have been considering a career change. We also went into the village where we were dressed in traditional Kente cloth. We left that artisan village and visited a place where they make wooden stamps and dye to stamp designs onto the Kente cloth. Some of us chose our own stamps and stamped a piece of cloth. Each stamp has a different meaning. Both artisan villages were really cool. It was just nice to see that they still used their traditional methods and hadn’t made an effort to modernize. It just goes to show that you don’t always have to modernize and should instead keep with traditions, especially if it works. Not all change is good.
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| Weaving Kente |
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| Dressed in Traditional Kente Cloth |
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| Wooden Stamps |
Afterwards we went into the market to get our Halloween costumes! It was Halloween and although it isn’t celebrated here, we couldn’t ignore it. So we all decided to have a small Halloween party in the guesthouse that we were staying at. There were some really great costumes, especially considering the short amount of time that we had to get one together. I was a rasta. Plus, there was candy involved.
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| Val and I |
The next morning we just had free time to explore Kumasi on our own so a few of us decided to venture the market by ourselves. I should explain that when we went the day before we had gone with a Ghanaian classmate, Nana. Also, this market is the largest open market in West Africa. It really was big. So we decided to brave it and explore. It was a lot of fun. The variety of things that you see in a market here is astounding. It ranges from shoes, clothes, fabric, nails, food, spices, traditional medicines, animal skins and smelly fish among so many more. Anything you need, you can find it in the market. The market can be dangerous though. You really have to be aware of what is around you. The alleys are really narrow, there are so many stalls and people everywhere. Also, people here carry things on their heads so when walking you have to keep your eyes up to make sure that you don’t bump into anyone, especially someone carrying something on their head. It gets a little tricky though because not only do you have to keep your head up but you have to keep your eyes on the ground to make sure that you don’t fall in a hole, trip on a rock or lose your balance on the uneven path. The market is one the of the most interesting places that I have been to in Ghana and they are everywhere. This one was especially interesting because it was so large and filled with so many cool things. Even the people in the market make it fun. They love it when you attempt to hold a conversation with them in their local language and you can tell that they really appreciate it. We managed to get in and out of the market without getting lost once. It was amazing. The only time we did get lost was when we left the market and had to find the restaurant to have a cold drink.
The next day we left Kumasi and made our way to Bolgatanga. This was the hardest part of the trip I would say because we were stuck on the bus for over eight hours. I swear my bum was imprinted on that bus. Luckily we managed to break up the trip with a stop at the Kintampo Waterfalls. Some people opted to swim, I should have. My bathing suit was at the bottom of my pack though and I wasn’t about to dig for it. Next time. It was really beautiful. Local people often go for a swim to cool down during the hot dry season. After about an hour at the waterfalls we made our way to Bolga.
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| Lynsey and I |
Bolga is a really small, cute rural town close to the Ghana-Burkina Border. It is famous for its baskets. The day after we arrived we had another NGO fair in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to Pikworo Slave Camp and then another Crocodile Sanctuary. Both are ecotourism projects where the money from the tours goes towards developing the community. We went to the slave camp first where we had a guided tour of the area where slaves were held before they were taken to either the slave market in Salaga or to Cape Coast or Elmina Castles to be transported across the ocean in the slave trade. The camp is built around large, natural rocks. Each rock represented a different part of the camp. There was a rock where the slaves ate, a rock that they used to make music in order to keep spirits high, a watchtower rock, cemetery that was had rocks to represent graves and punishment rock where a person was chained and whipped until they repented or died. It is really sad that this slave camp was placed in such a beautiful area. There was an interesting moment when some local members of the community played some music how their ancestors had. They used small rocks and hit the big rock while a young boy danced a traditional dance. It was really, really cool.
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| Andi, Amy and I |
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| Elise and I |
Next, we went to Paga, right on the Burkina border to visit a crocodile sanctuary. These crocodiles are sacred and we were told that sometimes people swim in the water with them. Not sure how accurate this statement is but the tour guide remained adamant that this was true. Apparently the crocodiles also cross the road into the village and walk around, especially when they lay their eggs. Anyways, although I had done something like this earlier while in Accra, these crocodiles were huge. Much bigger than the small one that I sat on last time. They also brought out the largest crocodile that they had. I wasn’t even scared this time but I think that is because of last time. I was still cautious though. Crocodiles up front are really large animals. The top of their back is really hard as you would expect it to be but surprisingly their tails are really soft. The guide also fed the crocodile the chicken that he had held out in order to get the crocodile out of the water. I looked away at that part. What surprised me was that the cattle ate on the grass near the water pond and drank out of the water pond and when I asked if they had lost any cattle to the crocodiles the guide said that they left the cattle alone. Again, not sure about this.
The next day we had the morning in Bolga before we made our way to Tamale. So we decided to try and find the famous Bolga Basket Market. After about 30 minutes we still hadn’t found it despite asking numerous people from directions so we just went to some basket stalls that we had passed by earlier. The one store was massive. It had three rooms filled to the brim with baskets. There must have easily been a few hundred baskets. I would find one, look around and change my mind and continued to do this for a while. I eventually had to find one and then leave otherwise I would have been there for hours! They had more things other than baskets-they had rugs, fans, hats (sunhats and baseball caps). It really was incredible. I bought a sun hat and a basket. I mean I couldn’t go to Bolga and not buy a basket!
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| My hat and the basket rooms |
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| Basket room 1 of 3 |
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| My Basket |
That afternoon we made our way to Tamale and took a tour of Tamale, stopping by the Tamale Football Stadium. It was a stadium built by a Chinese Company (instead of a Ghanaian one?) for the African Cup of Nations in 2008. It is a beautiful stadium but it is currently going to waste because Tamale’s football team didn’t qualify for the local league this year. You can’t even rent the field to play on it! What a waste! When we pulled into the Stadium I asked our tour guide, Camil if there were any ladies football teams. He said that he hadn`t seen any so I asked if there were any men`s teams that would let me play on their team. This is the reply that I received: ``There might be a few that would let you slow them down…`` That was not a good moment for me. It hasn`t been the first though. It is really hard to be a girl here who wants to play sports. It is a patriarchal society where men definitely dominate and it is just a cultural difference. It still hurts though. It doesn`t mean that there isn`t hope though. The other day Amy (who also likes sports) was biking home from school and started talking to a girl in high school. Amy asked her what she wanted to do after school and she said that she wanted to play sports! It made both of our days! It is good to know that there are girls who want to play sports because for a while I was convinced that they didn`t especially because I haven’t seen any play.
The next morning we did our own version of the Amazing Race-Tamale Edition. In order for us to get a better look at Tamale, our non-academic coordinator came up with some tasks for us to do. We were split into teams. I was with Brigitte, Lynsey and Sheila. The groups that had a Ghanaian student, like us, had to complete three tasks instead of two. We had to take a picture of the teaching hospital sign, go to the cultural center to see the price of a batik dye workshop and find out the rental price of bicycles. We managed, of course, to come first! As a reward, we got a free lunch! It was a lot of fun!
Then we had a dinner at a restaurant called Desert Rose where we met our coordinator for the North, Prof. Coleman. This was also where I tried Guinea Fowl for the first time. It is kind of weird. Not really that much of a fan. It is really tough. The next day we were split into groups and moved into our houses for the next month. I was put in a group with Brigitte, Amy, Jess, Valerie, Becca, Elise and a recent newcomer, Lynsey. It has been a week and it has been amazing. They are furnished houses but this is the first time that I have ever been out on my own in a house without some sort of adult. I was a little nervous before moving in, especially because I didn`t know who I would be living with but it has really been incredible. I live with wonderful people and it has been nice to get to know them all better. It has also been nice to cook for ourselves (not that I am much of a cook!). I have cooked breakfast a few times for everyone and managed to not kill anyone with Veggie Chilli and a Tomato and Egg Stew that Mama Hetty had showed me to make before I left Accra. Cooking for ourselves also means that we have to buy food so we go to the market everyday which can be a little annoying but we get fresh food everyday.
Tamale is very different from Accra. It is much more conservative but this is due to the large Muslim population. People also speak Dagbani here which makes it very difficult for us especially if someone doesn’t speak English very well or at all. Although most people do you still come across the occasional person that doesn’t. I don’t want it to sound like that is their fault because it isn’t. I am here in their country so I should make an attempt to speak in their native tongue. We haven’t learnt any Dagbani though but we should hopefully be doing some classes soon. We are only here for three more weeks but it will make life much easier for me and everyone around me. The other thing about Tamale is that it is motorbike and bicycle central. Almost everyone here drives motorbikes or they ride a bicycle. Tamale isn’t very big at all so it makes it easier to commute those ways. They still drive as crazy as they do in Accra, if not crazier. Tamale has bike lanes which are used by people biking which is great. The weird thing about the motorbikes is that a lot of women ride motorbikes. This isn’t weird in itself but the kind of scary thing is that women will have their babies strapped to their backs or if they are a few years old sitting in front of them-without a helmet. Not that anyone wears a helmet here anyway. I’ve been here for a week and I have probably seen a total of 20 helmets. Other times, there are animals on the motorbikes. I have seen two people on a motorbike numerous times, one driving with a live goat who has his legs tied behind him and another person holding the goat on the bike. If you don’t see that, sometimes you will see trotro’s that have goats on the roof. On the drive to Bolga, I saw a live goat tied to the top of a truck that was driving full speed down the highway. I thought I was hallucinating until I got to Tamale where this is a regular occurrence. Once I saw a truck that had about 20 goats on the roof and there were so many that one of the goats back legs was off the roof and on the front of the car. It was really scary and kind of sad but it’s just the way things are done here. I’m not here to judge.
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| Ram on motorcycle |
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| Goats on top of the trotro |
Speaking of scary, I mentioned the bike lanes. Well I decided to get a bike along with some of my roommates for the month and we bike to school and around town sometimes. It is quite a good workout, especially on the way to school because there is a small but long hill that really, really makes you hurt. The bikes are also older and have no gears so sometimes it can be tough. The scary thing is that when you are biking in the bike lane, or just biking in general you really have to be aware. I have almost been hit a few times by bicycles, motorbikes and cars. It can be really frustrating and scary. Nonetheless, I do love my bike. It is nice to do some exercise and to actually see Tamale. I find that when I bike although I have to be aware of traffic, I can still take the time to look around and soak it all in. It can get a little sweaty though. Right now, Ghana is entering the dry season so that means that there will be no rain until next June/July. In Tamale the heat isn’t humid but it is hot. It was 36 degrees at midnight the other night. It gets over 40 degrees easily during the day and sometimes at night if it is really hot, it can be hard to sleep. Sometimes the fans aren’t enough. You just have to be really careful and make sure that you drink a lot of water otherwise it can be a bad experience.
So that is Tamale so far. I know I always say that I will try and write more frequently but this time I will make a valiant effort. If I have nothing to write about, I will post a few photographs. If nothing else, hopefully it will stop my mum harassing me for some more blog posts. Hope this one was okay mum! Sorry it was so long but you wanted details!
Joc
P.S. Becca-if you are reading this, hi!
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