Akwaaba! One of our favourite things in the world is pottery (as some of dearest friends well know!), so when we read about the unique Kpando Women's Pottery Collective in the Volta region, we had to check it out. As with many things in Ghana, it took healthy doses of patience and perseverance first to find the Fesi pottery shed, and then to find someone around who actually had the key to the shop. We could see a number of flawed and unfinished pieces outside of the shop, and we were able to peek into the shop, and what we saw reinforced our resolve to stick it out. We were not disappointed once we finally got inside as there was wealth of beautiful, functional pottery filling every inch of available space. Of course we had to run a tag-team, high alert surveillance operation to keep Finn at bay while we took turns working our way through the collective's wares, but as always, it was a labour of (mostly) love.
Most of the pottery we've fond in Ghana is highly uniform, and strictly functional, so we haven't bought much aside from a couple of simple bowls and small pots. That is why we were pleasantly surprised to discover such a wealth and variety of completely unique pottery in the village of Fesi. It struck us that there must have been some outside influence somewhere along the line, as there was a decidedly Euro-western flair to the items on display. Any one of the objects could have been found at an artsy little Montreal boutique, or a Saturday market on Vancouver Island, or a garden shop in England, and I was trying to imagine some of the objects on the mud-sill of the average village window.
The process was explained to us by one of the women who opened up for us. Due to the fact that it is often hot and dry, and because of the nature of the soil in West Africa, the clay that the potters buy from the local market is completely dry and very course. They basically have to pound it using a giant mortar and pestle until it is broken down into a finer consistency that can be mixed with water. Kilns consist of a square hole in the ground where the fire is built, over which the pieces are placed, and a small brick house is built around. Combine intense labour with intense heat, and you've got a recipe not only for pottery, but also for a day's work in the lives of many Ghanaians!
The cooperative is itself quite unique as it is made up of dozens of mothers, most of whom are apparently single parents, and all of whom have an aptitude for pottery. I think there are opportunities to volunteer with the collective, and some of their goods are sold online and abroad under a Fair Trade arrangement. In the end, we only bought a couple of small, functional items as the pottery seems to be quite brittle and we weren't sure we could trust the baggage handlers to be gentle with it! This is yet another example of eco-tourism gone very right and we are certainly glad we persevered.
Akwaaba! One of our favourite things in the world is pottery (as some of dearest friends well know!), so when we read about the unique Kpando Women's Pottery Collective in the Volta region, we had to check it out. As with many things in Ghana, it took healthy doses of patience and perseverance first to find the Fesi pottery shed, and then to find someone around who actually had the key to the shop. We could see a number of flawed and unfinished pieces outside of the shop, and we were able to peek into the shop, and what we saw reinforced our resolve to stick it out. We were not disappointed once we finally got inside as there was wealth of beautiful, functional pottery filling every inch of available space. Of course we had to run a tag-team, high alert surveillance operation to keep Finn at bay while we took turns working our way through the collective's wares, but as always, it was a labour of (mostly) love.
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