September in Kongo

September came to a close and it was an eventful month. In Accra, Ghana interred one of its dearest sons, Kofi Annan. In New York at the UN general assembly, world leaders convened to discuss global challenges and goals. At the same time, the world marked the third anniversary of the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a “blueprint to achieve a better more sustainable future for all”.

Here in Kongo village, we continue day in and day to build resilient communities by supporting three cooperatives in creating economic opportunities for women one basket, one seedling and one shea butter pouch at a time. The work of these cooperatives impact women’s lives and that of their families.

This month brought a lot of changes into my daily life. First, a new EU Aid Volunteer from Italy arrived, Diana. She will be working as an ict teacher and she was already a friend, since we spent two trainings in Austria and Tallinn together! Then my supervisor and Mondo's Social Entrepreneurship Expert, Diana Tamm, came for a two week visit. We managed to revise a lot of the processes of the two cooperatives together and identified some areas that need improvement, such as quality for both weavers and shea butter ladies. We also reviewed the developments and the budget of Mondo's AFR3 projects, which will be coming to a close at the end of November this year. The women were immensely excited to see Diana again and all work was put to a standstill during her stay. We worked long and late hours, even on weekends. And after she left, we had to hurry up to finish orders that had been on hold during her two week visit. On top of that, I fell ill right after her departure. This wasn't too much of a surprise, since about more than a handful of the weavers also got sick-it is the season for malaria and sicknesses. Suffice to say, it was a hectic month to say the least!

In the next few paragraphs, I would like to talk a little more about the actual products I am working with, namely the bolga basket and shea butter. Allow me to introduce you to what they are and how they are made. Enjoy! These are also found on Mondo's Instagram site, with even more pictures ;). 

THE BOLGA BASKET

Ghana’s Upper East Region is famous for its handmade bolgabasket. Weavers use a traditional technique that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years.

In Kongo village, it was the women m arried into the community from neighboring ones, who brought in the handicraft and started teaching others. That is how four years ago 8 women started Yen Pang Basket Weavers Cooperative, with support from Mondo. Abena, pictured above, was one of the original 8 and has trained over 20 women that have joined the cooperative since. They now ship baskets as far away as Canada. As an EUAV, I provide support to the cooperative in business, communication and marketing skills.

How are they made?

The bolgabasket is made out of the stalk of elephant grass, which when dried serves as a durable, yet bendable straw for weaving. In Ghana, the grass grows mainly in the Ashanti region and is brought to the Upper East region by straw suppliers. The price per bundle of straw has doubled since last year, simply because the suppliers have monopoly over straw. To cope with increased expenses, weaving cooperatives, like Yen Pang, have started their own straw banks to allow buying in bulk during straw season when bundles are larger in size. Through the cooperative, the women artisans at Yen Pang earn a fixed price for each basket directly from their clients and don’t have to rely on selling their baskets to middlemen at the local market, who buy at a much lower rate for export. Being conscious of who you buy your products from and knowing where and under what conditions they were made, makes all the difference for the artisan.

First, the women split the straw in half using their teeth. Then, the two strands get intertwined, before the dyeing process begins, whereby natural dyes from plants such as sorghum are used. Depending on the size of the basket, it can take anywhere from 3 to 7 days to finish one basket.

SHEA BUTTER

Shea butter is made from the nut of the Shea fruit. The Shea tree grows in the dry savannah belt of West Africa, which stretches across the continent to the Horn of Africa. Traditionally, female members of one family will make Shea butter together. It is a method that has been passed down from mother to daughter for centuries and is often performed as a social activity. Shea butter is used not only for hair and skin, but also as a cooking oil, which gives food a nutty aroma. Since the introduction of Shea butter in the west, it has become an income generating activity for many women in northern Ghana. Mondo has supported the founding of a women’s Shea butter cooperative in Kongo village and provides machinery and housing infrastructure for the business to thrive.

Nongtaaba, a cooperative founded with Mondo’s support, employs more than 100 women from different communities. Average age of the women is 65. Nuobo, in her early 90s, is the oldest member💪🏼

The women knead the Shea paste the traditional way; by hand, in unison and completely unrefined. That is important to keep the beneficial properties of the butter intact. The women, all farmers, take great ownership of their work and are proud to be able to sustain their families with it.

The entire process includes sorting the nuts, crushing, drying in the sun, roasting, mealing into a paste, then kneading until you can separate the oil from water, followed by seaving and leaving overnight to cool and finally packaging and shipping.