Vans, villages, and ventures (and veloce mangos)

Day Thirteen

Saturday, May 30, 2015

                We got up early and packed our bags into a tro-tro, van, and pickup truck, each of which was going to different places (with three different groups):

•          One group went to Konongo, for a brief meeting with Priscilla from the Rural Enterprise Program (REP), which was more informational than anything, and which was completed in a short amount of time (the first meeting covered most of what we wanted to discuss) – that group then headed to see Auntie Howe in Adumkrum.
•          Ambika, Anna, and Peter hopped in an air-conditioned van that traveled to Akutuase before meeting up with some of the others at Auntie Ama's and Auntie Akosua's in PKK.  At Akutuase those three met with Auntie Rebecca and her husband Tsikata and gave them the new press.
•          The third group met in Odumase with Samuel, who has not been using his grater for the intended benefit (he is keeping it in his home as a kind of art installation / decorative piece) and did not make his last payments.  We will seize his grater if he does not make his next payment.  We are okay with this possibility because he is not using the machine for its intended purpose right now, and would rather it go to an economically constrained gari-producing woman. We need them to be in the hands of people who will use their graters and presses in a way that will benefit lots of people, as more than just a status symbol.

Upon meeting back at PKK, one group quickly got to work showing Auntie Akosua her new and improved grater.  The team learned, from Auntie Akosua, about a new method of grating that result in different consistencies in the grated cassava, and therefore even more benefit from the one machine/head.  The secret is the pressure put on the cassava when it is being pushed down in the chute.  We documented some footage, and took plenty of notes, and soon were piling back into the vans. 

We said our goodbyes at PKK and took off for Konongo, where we arrived at around lunch time and got food from a few different places.  The team gathered under the shade of a small bakery and snacked on some very inexpensive fruit, bread, and crackers from the nearby markets.  We also got one another up to speed with the happenings at each site visited today. Ken probably ate an entire village’s share of mango this day, and for less than the cost of a McDonald’s happy meal.

After reconvening, we piled all of our things into the truck and squeezed into the tro-tro for a long ride to Accra.  We had a couple stops to make along the way, however, and so the five-or-so-hour ride was not too unbearable.  The main stop that we made was Koforidua -- a few of us (Kari, Kate, Peter, Rezzy, and Rosy) chose to go to Ability Bikes and talk with some people who are doing some really cool stuff there (see https://bikesnotbombs.org/ability-bikes-cooperative for more info).  We learned a lot from these awesome people about doing business in Ghana, working through corruption, and overcoming other challenges like gender roles and financial difficulties.  The rest of the team went to BURRO, where people are making cool, affordable products that help off-grid and other customers gain access to electricity (see http://www.burrobrand.biz/ for more info).  That group learned a bit about doing business in Ghana, scaling up a small enterprise, and how sustainability and business can coexist.  These two visits were very interesting, and were definitely a highlight of the trip.

After a couple hours back on the road, and a pretty gorgeous [but very bumpy] drive down to Accra (Rosy really likes the switchback road that leads down a mountain and overlooks the city), we arrived at our new place of stay - iDE Ghana office in Accra.  A few of us (Ben, Rezzy, Wendy, and Peter) got a late dinner at a restaurant near the office upon arrival, but most of the team went to bed early after what was a long day of work and travel.

Oh, and by the way… the mango [almost] hit the chicken.  !