Adanwomase- another cocoa farm and Kente cloth

This morning i was half asleep when i felt something falling on my belly, i sat up and what do i see? A giant cockroach crawling towards my feet! YAK! I was out of bed in two seconds after the bug had had a catapult ride out of my bed:)
After breakfast a taxi driver, who had been recommended by the hotel, picked me up and we drove to a small peaceful village called Adanwomase which is situated about 45 minutes north of Kumasi. This village is one of the five Kente stools (it's cloth, but more info on this below) founded by Denkyira exiles, after their land was conquered by King Osei Tutu in 1701. Today it is easier to visit this place due to Peace Corps and NCRC. I decided to take the "combined tour", starting at the Visitor's Centre. If you ever go to Ghana i can highly recommend this place. The guide is very good at his job; he has a lot of knowledge and he also checked every now and then if i was alright or had any questions. Very considerate. So what did i see then? The tour started by going through the steps in making "Kente", cloth which Ghana is famous for, especially the Ashanti region i am in. It is a rather thick cloth and comes in different colour combinations. But because it is made out of cotton, it is said not to be too warm for this climate. It is trully beautiful. It is art. We started out by looking at different threads from the region made by cotton (very soft and quite thick) but also a metallic thread, the latter used occasionally, but only in female clothing. We continued our walk through the village and i saw how men put the threads on rolls. They were sitting in the shade, under a roof made out of palm tree leaves slightly leaning over the machines. Threads in different colours were stretched out several metres in front of them. Pictures were taken, yes... We continued our walk. The guide showed how the thread is strained between two spots, several metres in between the poles. The guide used three threads, two blue and one yellow, and started walking between the two points. Back and forward. Back and forward. Then i got to try it out! I did well apparently. Probably people do this work in early morning or late in the evening, when the sun is not high in the sky. I then got to see the weavers in action. Wow. I learned that you have a single (one colour), double (two colours) or triple (yep, you got it, three or more colours combined in a pattern) weaving. They didn't mind me taking pictures. Some of them were extremely quick in moving the the threads into place, fascinating to watch. People were very humble and laid back. No hassle at all.
We then went to the cocoa farm! ...and i had the luck of meeting the caretaker of the land, his nickname was Scorpio:) They told me about cocoa, most of it i knew already, but some news too. For example: Cocoa trees start with a small seed found inside the cocoa fruit, the actual cocoa bean. Every bean is placed in small pots individually and is then watered every morning and evening. All the plants to be are protected from the sun by a roof made of palm tree leaves. The bean splits into two halves when the new plant appear. Beauty of nature. I also learnt that when the cocoa pods have been opened to remove the seeds, the pods can be put into palm tree oil and then transforms into "Nigerian soap", a mixture which is said to have a healing effect on wounds and scars.
The it was time to visit the house of the village chief.Unfortunately he was not there. Twelve people, three of them women, meet every 4o days to discuss the future of the village; development and so forth. The guide showed me where they have their meetings, as well as where the chief's private weaver sits to make new clothes and the chair (which looked more like a canoe dressed in cloth) with three handles on each side of it. The reason is that whenever the chief has to go somewhere, six men carry him there. Makes me wonder if he wasn't around after all, probably peeking at the Ubruni walking around...
We then continued to the house of the healer. He was not there. Three women were sitting in the homestead, which consisted of four walls of which two were a part of two houses, the third wall was the base for one roof covered terrasse and there was a cooking/storage area situated opposite the terrass. Clothes were drying in the yard in between the walls. The guide informed that the people in this homestead is considered to be royalty. Not to forget the small space in between one of the houses and the terrasse where the healer does his work. It was not larger than 2x1 metres. People go to this man when they come across problems; disease or dilemmas and so forth. This is not something you can learn, you are born with it. I understood from the guide that there is a great respect for the healer's knowledge and the people living in this homestead. They are royalty and the healer has powers unknown to the majority of us, simply because we are not born with it. Fascinating.
We finished our walk by visiting five different shops where Kente cloth is sold. It is very expensive! A woman would normally buy cloth that comes in three pieces (one top, one skirt and one piece which you tie around your waist). However, you can buy them separately, each piece costs 100 Cedi. I'm not sure what it is in relation to the dollar at this point in time, but roughly it is the same value $1=1 Cedi. I bought a small bag, and two pieces of Kente cloth that can be used as scarves, table decorations, or around your neck or as a head decoration. Women here are so beautiful when they use them for this purpose.
Me and Samuel the taxi driver left Adanwomase passing Bonwire, a town also known for its Kente cloth, but also for hassling tourists. I knew from my fantastic guide book that Adanwomase has signed up to a charter which prevents locals from hassling or overcharging tourists, but guarantees them 40% of the profits of the scheme to invest in community projects in return. I wish more places would apply this too.
Tonight Rasmus and Jonas are coming back from their trip to western Ghana. Will be nice with company for dinner! We went out for a beer on Saturday night and listened to a live band playing highlife, a traditional Ghanaian music style. I can best describe it as upbeat reggae. Give it a try!