Ashanti and Kumasi Trip

Ashanti Region Trip

This past weekend we went to the Ashanti Region which is about a 5 hour drive from Accra. We took our bus we have been using on all of our excursions so it was way more comfortable then last weekend taking the huge mass transportation bus. Once we arrived, we stopped by the Ashanti Traditional Home that belonged to the then Queen Mother of Ejisu who lead the famous Yaa Asantewaa war in the 1900 against  the British when the British went to demand the golden stool which is believed to be the soul of the Asante people. The guy to the left manages the palace and loves to take pictures so we each got a picture with him which was so cute! 

Kejetia Market

After we checked into our hotel we went to the biggest market in West Africa which was overwhelming when we drove down the hill and once we actually entered the market there were so many booths to look at that I had no clue where to even begin. We started to just walk around and go from booth to booth. Once we actually went to around most of the market all we wanted to do was leave because the smell was so bad, it smelled like rotten fish and dirty feet. Really bad combination! We finally found our way out of there and headed back to the bus to head back to the hotel. We had an early night to get ready for an early wake up call. 

 Kente Cloth Village 

We woke up early Saturday and had breakfast then headed to the kente cloth village where we saw first hand how the cloth is made, the meaning of each strip of cloth and the difference between single, double and multiple stitch. I was able to bargain really far down with all the cloth I bought and walked out of the factory feeling really great about what I bought. Below is the actual machine that the weavers attach the cloth to and sit on a stool moving the machine with both feet. I actually got the opportunity to learn how you actually use the machine and how you use your feet to power the machine.

Ntonso Adinkra Village 

We went to the village where they hand stamp kente cloth with organically made ink. Below as you can see is a bunch of cloth with Obama on them. They are so obsessed with Obama here and we have began to say we are from Obama Country. 

Each of the stamps mean something different which is really cool. The stamps are also hand carved which makes the whole process really great!

This is the beginning of the process to make the ink. It starts with tree bark from a specific bark that has a red tint to it.




Below is the bucket where you smash the bark with a large, thick stick

From the bucket you smash it so hard you get red dye out of it and boil it in a large bin before dumping it into a separate bin with no bark and only the dye.







From the bin full of die you take it a boil it into a pot where the dye turns into black and is the last step in making the ink

Here is the stamps that are hand carved with each one having different meanings

Below is the 4 yards of the kente cloth we stamps for the CIEE Summer 2013 banner to hang up in the office. 

After you stamp the fabric it is moved to the 'drying station' where they place two rocks on the cloth and let it dry in the sun.

While I was waiting for my cloth to dry, a guy showed me how to weave the cloth and claimed he is the master of the village. He was a great teacher and I got the hang of the weaving fairly fast. 

This past weekend was so fun and I learned so much about the kente cloth and the culture that goes with it!