Danger, No Danger!!!

This week we went on a field trip. The purpose was to visit some businesses similar to the ones we will be going to. We left on Saturday and came home on Wednesday. It was the 12 of us SED people, and 4 trainers. We were fortunate to use the large van that the PC owns, as well as our own driver. We took off early Saturday morning, while Ghanians were preparing for their funerals. Yes, funerals. Every first Saturday of the month is when they have funerals for the folks who died the past month. I will not go into  all the details here, trust me, that will be a blog all unto itself! But, suffice it to say that Ghanians take their funerals very seriously, and every village we went through was gearing up. 

Our first stop on the trip was a village known for their bead making. It is in the Volta region, and quite a beautiful area. The rolling hills and the lush green grass were a delight to my eyes. Some of the villages were quite small, with mud huts and thatched roofs, while others were small towns. When we arrived, we stopped at an NGO (Non Government Organization) called Global Mama’s. It was started by two former PCV who had a burden of helping women get better pay for their work. It is quite a successful organization selling their product in Ghana as well as in the States. 

We went to see how the beads were made. The women collected bottles from where ever they could get them, and then ground them down into powder. Then, they would put this powder into molds that they made, put a piece of stick in the middle to serve as the hole in the bead, and then melt the powder in an oven that looks like a homemade pizza oven. They would leave the mold in there until the glass melted and burned the stick away, and then they would let it cool. After popping the beads out of the mold, they would then smooth them, and paint them. There is a local market in town where they would sell these beads, and from there people would make jewelry from them. It is an amazing process and you could buy two bracelets of beads for $1 Ghana CD, which is about .80 cents. Ghanian folk do not factor in time as part of their labor, just materials. With the help of Global Mama’s, hopefully the women will get better prices for their efforts. 

We then drove to a Kente Village. Kente cloth is a hand woven cloth that is very colorful and very labor intensive. We arrived in the middle of an incredible thunderstorm.   Right before we got there I looked over in the woods and saw what looked like a bright light of a street light. But, considering that we were on a small dirt road heading into a village of 500 people, with no running water and intermittent electricity, I did a double take and realized that lighting had just hit a large tree and the tree was still glowing from the charge of the bolt. It was pretty awesome, to say the least. 

The villagers had all come out to meet us, but due to the rain, most of them had left. We had a short meeting with the chief and some important villagers, then took a quick tour of where they made this cloth. The looms are laid out where someone sits and uses their hands and feet to weave beautiful patterns into a fabric that is about 3 inches wide. From there, they attach the strips together to make one large piece of fabric. Again, like the beads, the amount of time and effort that goes into this art is incredible and they barley get paid for it. I hope to show some pictures of the fabric at some point if I can ever find an internet cafe that has a decent connection. 

It was getting late and we needed to get to the place where we were going to spend the night. We were told that the place we would be spending the next two nights was a place called Mountain Paradise. Having been in Ghana for a little over a month, I was a little concerned of what their definition of “paradise” is.  They told us that they would meet us at the bottom of this mountain because the road was too steep. Well, I guess our driver either didn’t get those instructions or thought he could make it ourselves. Now, I know that I have tried to describe “roads” to you before, but.... this one has raised the standard. A logging road would be a four lane highway compared to this one. It was more like a path, that had gotten washed away with all the rain we just got. I will never know how we did not tip over. As we were clutching onto our seats, getting thrown to and fro, we rounded a corner, and there in the middle of the road, was a bigger truck than us, stuck in a rut. We stopped and some of us got out to take a look at the situation. It looked like he was stuck on the passenger side of the vehicle both the front and the back. For some reason he kept trying to go forward instead of backwards. We suggested that he try backing out and then move forward. He agreed and started up the big engine. As he did so, I was standing right next to where a regular exhaust would be but, there is nothing regular about Ghana. As the engine fired, a huge thick black cloud of smoked enveloped me; I am sure I lost ten years of my life as I scrambled out of the way. He was finally able to get out of the rut, and was headed straight toward our bus. After from choice words from our bus driver, the truck managed to get in gear and slowly head up the mountain. 

We all got back into the bus and continued our way up the steep incline to the top of the mountain. The view was incredible, the place was by itself on a ridge overlooking a beautiful valley of lush tropical forests. I was amazed at not only the location, but also the place itself. There was a large lodge, and a beautiful tiki bar that was perched right on the edge of the mountain, with a 360 degree view of the landscape. We were welcomed by Tony, the owner, who was very friendly and gracious. That night we had a bon fire and learned to play bongos under the stars.

The next morning we decided we would go for a hike to see a local waterfall. A man named Believer was our guide and though he was a very good guide, he did not speak English other than a few words. The waterfall was down this steep ravine and at one point we had to repel with ropes down a rocky section. Whenever we came to a tricky part in the trail, Believer would say “Danger”, then “No Danger” when we were back to safety. After a nice refreshing swim we headed back up the trail. The sun was hot and the trail was pretty steep; when, all of a sudden Believer, came running back from the front shouting “Danger!!! Run, Danger!!” I was in the back of the pack and as the group ahead started running, I heard shouts of pain and cursing coming from the group. In the trail. and for about 30 feet or more on the trail was a swarm of army ants. As we ran through them, several of us got bit by these nasty creatures, sending an electric shock up our legs. By the time we all made it through, we had welts and one ant even drew blood on my ankle. Awhile later we saw the welcoming porch of the lodge and had a nice rest, nursing our bites and enjoying some cold water. 

The day was a great day; we were all relaxed not having anything on the agenda for the day. As we were sitting there on the porch listening to the birds in the valley below, I realized  that I could in a small way relate to the life of a big celebrity. For the first time since we have been in Ghana, we were alone with no one but us “Ebronies” (white folk). This was the first time that we were not gawked at, pointed at, yelled at, laughed at. It was a chance to relax, let our guard down and just be ourselves.  It was a time that we all needed; a chance to recharge our batteries. 

The next day we hit the trail again, visiting some more businesses and farms. We got home in the afternoon, back to our village with our families happy to have us back home. It was a fantastic field trip!