South African expat writing about living in Accra, Ghana and New Jersey, USA while 'marvelling at the mundane'. Adventuring. Choosing Joy. Photographing. Travelling. Thriving post cancer. Living. Loving.
In this category I write about local Ghana culture like the Posuban Shrines and Asafo Flags, the ladies who work as Kayayei carriers, and the men and women who work as seamstresses and tailors sewing on the road side. I also blog about some of the local festivals I’ve been lucky enough to attend like the Jamestown Twin Festival, the Millet Festival and the Bakatue Festival.
Clonette dolls are brightly coloured plastic dolls that originated in Ghana during the 1950s in Colonial times when Ghana was still known as The Gold Coast (Ghana gained its independence in 1957). They were the first industrially produced dolls in Africa and in recent years have gained wide international appeal as a home décor item…
Continue reading ➞ Clonette Dolls – the colourful Ghanaian dolls with the name Auntie Dei Dei
Twin ladies at the Ga Mashie Twin Festival in Accra Ghana When my mom and I went on a walking tour of Jamestown Accra last year which I wrote about here, Collins our tour guide from Jamestown Walking Tours mentioned the upcoming well known Homowo and Chale Wote local festivals taking place in a few…
Continue reading ➞ Seeing double at the Ga Mashie Twins Yam festival in Jamestown Accra
It is the delightful mix of bright red, yellow and turquoise colours, shapes and patterns that look like those on playing cards, hearts dangling off balconies that remind me of traditional Scandinavian Christmas ornaments and a blonde man sitting drinking tea at a table with an African man that could be a comic block from a Tin Tin adventure book - these things have me somewhat mesmerized at the photo on my screen. Am I looking at a beautifully illustrated page of a children’s story book or an actual place in Ghana? And how on earth does such an eccentric looking place fit into the culture and history of this country?
We reach the end of the narrow fabric alleyway of Makola market where we have given into ‘just one more piece’ after spotting a unique African wax print of elegant swallows mid flight. The bird prints are quite rare and we don’t see them very often. We are hot and experiencing what I've termed ‘fabric…
*This post is close to my heart. I've taken the photos during our time in Ghana during walking tours of Jamestown and Nima, village stops on trips out of town and sometimes at random moments around the city. Most of the time my offer to pay for a photo is politely refused. I had toyed…
Continue reading ➞ A shared Love of Stitching – the seamstresses and tailors of Ghana