I have been collecting a series of photos that speak to different parts of my experience and to life in general in Ghana. Enjoy!
All of the products that go into the Global Mamas catalog need to be photographed – often on models. This is one of the women who works in the Cape Coast office being photographed by one of the designers who works in the U.S. office.
We visited a weaving studio while traveling over the Christmas holiday.
Can you find the pig? She and her babies can often be found with their noses in the trash piles at the end of our street.
Can you find the chickens? This is the back of our house. After a week or so I realized that our kitchen sink (as well as all of the sinks and showers in the house) drains into a gutter in the back yard. The chickens run over to the gutter when they hear water flowing out of the kitchen sink pipe. Often there is food flowing out with that water.
Without municipal trash pick up most people burn their trash. This is a pile of our trash in the front yard of our house.
Seeing a Prius reminded me of Madison. This one is particularly Ghanaian. The yellow quarter panels are usually seen on taxis.
This is a beach near our house where several hotels are located. The tracks are from trucks that come to the beach at night and steal the sand for mixing with cement for building. It is illegal, but no one seems to enforce the law. There are often big craters along the beach with tire tracks leading out to the road. The eroded banks in the back of the photo show the immense amount of sand that has been removed.
So much of Ghana is gray, but the fabrics are so colorful. These are batik quilts laying outside of the Global Mamas office.
I was visiting a Global Mamas seamstress to take her photo for the website. Her children were there and wanted their own photo shoot. Just like kids in the U.S. they wanted to see each photo after it was taken so they could laugh and giggle at themselves.
Smoking is not very common in Ghana. Maybe these straightforward messages have done their job.
We visited the Kejetia Market in Kumasi over the holidays. It is said to be one of the largest markets in West Africa. We spent most of our time in the fabric section looking for Ghanaian fabrics.
On Christmas Day we had the opportunity to hold a baby monkey that was found near the hotel where we were staying.
Batiks drying at one of the Global Mamas production sites.
My lunch of chop, or street food. This is what I got for the equivalent of $1.50 USD. Vegetable fried rice, cabbage salad with a little mayo and ketchup, and a dab of hot pepper sauce. You can usually add meat, fish or a hard boiled egg.
The area where I live, Cape Coast/Elmina, is located on the coast. Big wooden boats can be seen out in the ocean each day trolling for the day’s catch. Here, they are gathered after coming in from the morning’s fishing trip.
Beautiful photos, Megan! What happens with the trash in the dumpsters, like where the pig was hanging out? Also, do you know what was going to happen with the baby monkey? I’d love to hear more about the food– traditional or common dishes. =)
I am not totally clear what happens to the trash in the dumpsters, or even where it comes from. It’s most likely either dumped somewhere or burned. They got the baby monkey because someone killed the mother for the meat – which is very common here. Once the monkey is older they likely won’t be able to keep it, so maybe they’ll send it to a sanctuary. We visited one last weekend near our town and they had lots of different kinds of monkeys there. Yes, a food post is on my list for the next few weeks. Thanks for the reminder!
What a strange place you find yourself in. On one hand, beautiful children, technicolor-ed fabric and clothing, and baby monkeys on your arm and on the other hand, mounds of burnt trash everywhere, shower & kitchen sink water running outside, and farm animals scavenging the neighborhood. Dorothy, I don’t think you’re in Kansas anymore.
Yes, it evokes mixed emotions as well. Some days and experiences are wonderful, others are hard and frustrating. I guess not too different from life in general, just magnified a bit here in Ghana.