Don't Drop the Chicken!

Recently I did a village stay in Yankazia, a part of Wapuli township, about 30 minutes west of Saboba. This was an opportunity for me to truly live off the grid, experience a subsistence lifestyle and experience what it really means to live in poverty. During this stay I worked farming soybeans and maize, toured the village visiting the palaces of numerous chiefs, went to a funeral, visited a community farm project and got to also hang out and have some fun with local villagers. Being a guest, many people who I had visited in the village, returned to visit me where I was staying. To my surprise, after visiting numerous homes in the village, male members of the households would go out of their way to repay the favor and come visit me where I was staying. This sometimes meant the elder of the household would show up with a chicken for me to slaughter for dinner with the family. On my last day I was presented with my 3rd chicken just before heading back to Saboba. I already was sporting my backpack and had a motorcycle stacked with yams, beans, and a moringa tree branch strapped to my backpack. Since I had to graciously accept the chicken, I was asked if I could transport it back. I said I could try, and was then told "don't worry, just don't drop the chicken. Here, we will tie it's legs together for you and it can sit on your lap." Alright I said, and then I headed off for what was an interesting ride back. After making it back to Saboba, my host family was thrilled with all the goods I brought back, and that night we enjoyed moringa tea and fried chicken! 

Here are some photos from my visit with some brief notes:

My hosts:

Mr. Elijah Sibow (left of picture) - Farmer, Lay Pastor, Father of six children. Here Mr. Elijah is teaching me how to use my cell phone. He has the same Nokia as myself and is helping me with my texting. Since I have no cell phone in Canada and have never owned one, I am having to learn how to use one. Cell phones are huge here, as Africa has leapfrogged land lines and gone straight to cellulars. Even if people can not afford credit, as all phones are pay as you go, they will "Flash You", which means they will call you and hang up so you can call them back and use your own credit up, as only the person placing the call gets charged for credit. 

Elijah and I got to pick each others brains a bit over the one week of my village stay. A moment that sticks out is when he took me on a hike to show me his distant farm fields down by the river. After hiking for 45 minutes we arrived at his fields of maize, millet, cassava, yams, soybeans, bimbala beans, hot peppers, and guinea corn. Elijah then suggested we take a seat in the shade under a tree. I asked him what his aim for the future is. He said "I am a poor farmer , but one day I hope people will remember me as a good farmer . One that was able to provide for his family and afford to send  my children to school ." I asked how he will do this and he said "I will get a  tractor. " What he meant by this statement is that he hopes to get access to a tractor in order to increase his acreage farmed,  so that he can earn more income and send all of his six children to school. A big problem in this part of Ghana is that many farmers can not gain access to tractors and farm equipment. This is the case as no banks currently exist within the district to give loans to farmers. Also, no farm equipment retailers are located here, that would allow farmers to lease, rent or own a tractor. Thus, to increase acreage farmed, farmers must find a tractor to rent from another farmer, that is if one is available, and then they must pay a high cost as well as for the fuel to rent it to plough their fields. This has made me think that a rent-to-own type of program may be helpful here, where farmers or farmer groups can rent equipment up until one day that they have paid enough to own the equipment outright and call it their own. 

The home:

Here is the fence Elijah uses to house his livestock. His goats, fowl and pigs free range around the village during the day and are then brought into the fenced area for the night. 

The processing mill and grain storage bin with some pigs laying around

Elijah processing some maize for a friend from the village.

View of Elijah's compound: house on left, mill house in middle, animal storage area on right.

View of his compound home from behind, I stayed in room with the window on the left.

Outside view of Elijah's family compound home

The room that I stayed in.

Kosi Sadira and Rolf Manikina, his 6th and 5th born children.Sweet shirt Rolf!

Mrs.Mariam (mother -wife), Nala (aunt of children, sister to Mariam), and Abaana (Nala's Daughter). All beating soybeans to liberate the beans after harvesting and drying. This is hard work, which I am positive that if we did not have machines to do this in Canada, we would probably not grow any soybeans ourselves. 

Chief's palace: I met with the chief (seated in chair) and the village elders for a discussion about farming as a business. 

My first Guinea Fowl as a gift. 

Dora -sister living with him at his compound

Soyabeans

Kids chilling out and taking a break from the hot afternoon sun under a Baobob tree. My co-worker Grundow who introduced me to the village in the background with his moto while talking on his cell phone. 

Fetching dinner by sling-shot!

Diesel powered processing mill. This one was actually made in Canada. A lack of manufactured products exist in Ghana, as manufacturing barely makes up 10 percent of economy. 

A couple local village kids who were sent by there mother to get some maize milled for dinner. One thing that ceases to amaze me overseas is how much responsibility is bestowed on children, as well as how much freedom they have. This may be a result of lack of options, but one thing is for sure, no one can accuse these kids of being spoiled, unappreciative, disrespectful and lazy. Letting them do things like cut up a chicken for dinner, or hike 3 miles to collect water on their own, something that would probably not go over too well in Canada, are common chores for children here. 

Fulani man. The Fulani are a minority of people who live and work as herdsman in Ghana. They are a tribal people who have migrated to Ghana from countries that lay to the North and East. They are not allowed to own land or do other work, and are often accused of criminal activity. I like this one, as he has a Toronto Blue Jays hat.

Local football pitch. These kids are playing with a hard plastic ball. I have seen blown up water sachets with the ends tied up used as well.

 Group of farmers de-husking maize after harvest so it can dry out before de-cobbing

 Group of village youth in Yankazia near the river

 My tour guide Francis with his family at a funeral for his late sister in law

Ladies dancing at the funeral, as the fourth day of a funeral is a day of celebration, as the deceased person has been re-united with their ancestors in afterlife. 

Chicken # 2, given to me by the eldest man living in this part of the village that I had visited.

Mark with chicken #3, this one rode with me back to Saboba. Mark was great showing me all around Yankazia village. Even though we got a flat tire, ran out of gas once, and had our headlight stop working on the way back one night, we made out alright.