5 crafts keeping Ghana’s past alive

The Akan people of the Ashanti Region have been dying silk using ground bark or leaves since the 1600s. They weave the thread on looms into geometric designs to create kente cloth, the colours of which symbolise different things (blue, for example, means harmony). Once reserved for royalty – who wore it as a shawl draped over their left shoulder – Ghanaians typically now wear strips around their necks on special occasions.

Where to buy kente cloth: You can tour workshops, buy cloth or try making it at the visitor centre in the village of Adanwomase and the weaving centre in Bonwire, both near Kumasi. Cloth prices depend on the complexity of the design. 

Krobo mothers in the Southern Region give their daughters beads for their dipo, a coming-of-age ceremony. These are often worn around the waist and made from shell, bone or glass, which is fired in a kiln, then painted. Golden beads signify wealth, while some feature the ‘evil eye’ to protect the wearer from spirits.

Where to buy beads: The town of Odumase Krobo is especially known for its beads. It’s here that NGO Global Mamas host workshops, during which you’ll learn how to turn recycled glass into a beaded bracelet of your own; £14 for one person. 

It is thought that Dutch traders introduced the art of batik to Ghana in the early 1600s. The technique involves hand-painting or stamping hot wax on fabric, which is then dyed and boiled, after which the wax then melts away to reveal intricate patterns in bold colours.

Where to buy batik: Batik fabric is sold across Ghana. Try producing it yourself in a Global Mamas workshop in Cape Coast. Here you’ll work alongside local artisans to create your own pattern on a metre of fabric.

Originally made to sift millet, Bolga baskets are also used for storage, carrying shopping and in funeral rituals. They are named after the town of Bolgatanga in northern Ghana, where most of these baskets are woven. Artisans split dried elephant grass with their teeth and twist the strands together for added strength; they then dye this material and weave it. Baskets are finished by wrapping the handle in goat leather.

Where buy woven baskets: You can buy Bolga baskets from shops on Oxford Road in Accra and from Bolgatanga Craft Village, one street north of the cathedral. You can even have a go at weaving one at Baba Tree Basket Company in Bolgatanga.

Women have been producing pottery in Ghana since 4000 BC, but Pankrono, a suburb of Kumasi, is perhaps best known for the craft today. Traditionally, oval pots were used for bathing, circular ones for drinking water and others to store valuables or for rituals.

Where to buy pottery: Shop for pottery in Pankrono or at the Centre for National Culture on John Evans Atta Mills High Street in Accra. Keen to fire a pot yourself? Then stay at Swopa, an NGO run by locals in Sirigu village, 45 minutes’ drive north of Bolgatanga. 

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