More Yams

Not far down the road, Stanley pulled over again.

“These yams are my favorite!” he said. “They’re different from the other ones. These, you see, look like small fingers growing out from the main yam. If I had known, I wouldn’t have bought so many back there.”

Turning around, I saw a boy approaching with a bike.  Hmm…should I photograph another round of yam shopping or the kid and the bike.  Kids are usually more agreeable to having their pictures taken, so…

In this part of the world, a bike is a big deal.  A lot of adults can’t even afford one for themselves.

I’m indebted to my friend Steve Sardeson, a fellow photographer and traveler. I spent part of my trip to Veracruz last year with Steve and his wife Pat. Steve’s influence as a photographer encouraged me to make an effort to get over my shyness at photographing people. I dedicate this photo to you, Steve.

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Yam ‘n Go

Day nine of the Ghana road trip: a little roadside shopping.

Leaving the monkey sanctuary, we passed a few villages. Suddenly Stanley pulled over.

“I want to buy some yams.”

Yams are to West Africans what potatoes are to Americans and what rice is to Asians, only much more so. They were cheaper in this area than where Stanley lives, so he wanted to stock up before he went back home at the end of our trip.

We no sooner got out of the Land Rover when a young girl in a red tank top jumped up and ran to help us.

Stanley made his selections, and she carried the battered tin basin of yams to the vehicle and helped him load them in.

You’ll be quite surprised to learn that while the yams were being loaded, my disciples gathered to hear The Word.

“Hello! How are you?” I said.

“Fine!” they chorused, with plenty of giggling.

A woman passing by wanted to see the photos, so I showed her.  I was happy when she allowed me to take her photo, too.

I waved goodbye to the children, and they all excitedly waved back.  This is why I love kids in West Arica. They make me feel like a rock star!  Actually, pretty much everyone here does.

That’s why I love West Africa.

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Bolga Smock Tailors

Smocks, also known as fugu, are a traditional man’s garment.

This is a place that’s not in any guide book.

Every smock tailor’s shop is outfitted basically the same way. They have a little bit of storage space and a foot operated sewing machine.  There’s no electricity here.

I walked through the pathways, admiring the beautiful garments. There was a dazzling array of colors but only two styles:  short or no sleeves.

The smocks were very well made, with locally hand woven cloth.  I found out later that it is known as gonja cloth.  Kente cloth weaving was developed from gonja weaving techniques.

Gonja cloth is made with cotton cloth strips of about four inches wide, joined together to make a large piece of cloth. The material is very strong and durable. The smocks are also partially lined.

The shopkeeper at the Crafts Village on the left and his brother the smock maker.

I decided that I would definitely get the red, white and blue striped smock. I tried it on and found it was a little tight around the neck, so I asked if he could make an adjustment.

While I was waiting for the alteration to be finished, another man brought a piece of cloth to show me. The cloth was roughly shawl sized in a beautiful indigo tie dye.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but as soon as I laid eyes on that piece of cloth, I knew I was buying it.  The man wanted 40 cedis for it.

If you’re going to be in Bolgatanga and want to visit the smock tailors, ask anyone in the new market area to point you the way or stop by the Crafts Village and ask any of the shopkeepers how to get here. Most of the shops have smocks for sale, and if they do, they should know how to direct you. None of the streets had names that I could see.  It’s worth the effort to find the place and a lot more interesting than the Crafts Village.

[This post has been abbreviated. The full story is in the Travels in Ghana e-book available at Amazon and Smashwords.]

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Bolgatanga Crafts Village

I had read about the Bolga crafts village in the Bradt Guide to Ghana, the bible for Ghana travelers.  Somehow I had gotten it into my head that this was a place where I could see handcrafted items being made, and I wanted to photograph that.

It turned out to be only a small collection of shops where tourists can buy handcrafted items but not see them made.  That’s fine, just don’t go there under any delusions.

So as not to offend the good looking guy in this photo, I told him I wanted to take a picture of the wall behind him but he need not bother himself to get up.  Since he didn’t move, I took that to mean he didn’t mind being in my picture.  Makes a much nicer photo with him in it.

Saw a few smocks in a couple of the shops, but I didn’t like any of them. One shopkeeper was very determined to make a sale. He said he could take us to the tailors’ workshop area where there were many tailors sewing smocks. In less than five minutes, we were following him to a group of sheds behind a two story cement block building in Bolga’s new market area.

[This post has been abbreviated. The full story is in the Travels in Ghana e-book available at Amazon and Smashwords.]

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SWOPA Gift Shop

The SWOPA gift shop.  No one else was there the day I visited.

The pottery was gorgeous, as were the paintings.

I love baskets!!!  But I kept thinking, how am I going to carry everything back with me?

The paintings!  So beautiful!  I wish I had bought this one.

At last, I found something I did buy.  A hat!!   You won’t believe what I paid for it:  5 cedis (US$3.00). Yep, only three bucks for a handmade, gorgeous straw hat.  Which one did I choose?

This one!  It’s extremely well made.  I love it.  Then I turned around and knew I was going to buy something else.

These fans were so gorgeous.  It was easy to bring back in the bottom of my suitcase. Price:  3 cedis, or US$2.00.

[This post has been abbreviated. The full story is in the Travels in Ghana e-book available at Amazon and Smashwords.]

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