Email 1
Accra: The Shangri-La
Accra: Museums
Accra: Batik and Coffins
Accra: The City
Somanya: Bead Village
Ho: Palm Wine
> The Pottery Village
The Kente Village
Akosombo: The Volta & Cocoa
Kumasi: Wood Carvers & Adinkra Stamping
Email 2
Kumasi: The Market
Nankese: A Village in Need
Kumasi: The Brass Village
Kumasi: Fusini's Birthday
Nkawkaw: Mr. Omari's Village
Email 3
Kumasi: Witchcraft & the Asafo
Cape Coast: Slave River
Kakum Rain Forest - The Rope Bridge(s)
Elmina Castle
Cape Coast: A Fishing Town
Accra: Our last days

It was a long ride to the pottery village from Ho.
A Trip to the Pottery Village

We arrived at the pottery village - way out in the middle of nowhere - and walked down a long path past the living quarters to the working area. ATAG funded a building for them last year where they work. Everything here is done by hand, including pots that I would have sworn were thrown on a wheel, had I not seen a woman create one before my own eyes in about 15 minutes out of a lump of clay! They fire them three times to make them a deep black, laying them in an open fire with strips of paper board on top to hold in the heat. Only women make pottery in Ghana, as is the custom.


Children in the pottery village were excited to see us and loved to have their picture taken! Pottery is all made by hand. Here the woman in the distance and just in front are making pots while the woman in the middle is making a bunny. She always makes figures (bunnies, elephants, etc.) while the other two always make pots.
Here she is putting the final touches on this pot - decorations of stripes on the inside of this bowl also make it handy for grinding herbs and grains. This woman is firing the pieces under several layers of torn cardboard and palm leaves. This process smokes the pots, and is done several times until they are a deep black. It also makes them porous.
Here are some turtles that are ready to be sold. They are black from many firings, but have also been painted. Not all pieces are painted. These boys entertained us with drumming while we were in their village.

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