SUNDAY

05|30|10


Today was another much needed slow day. Since we didn’t have much going on I took an extra long walk with Nick into town. We usually stop right at one of the first few streets but decided to walk all the way down through town and to the Elmina castle. The usual spots we walk through are not as busy as streets we walked through today. Im not sure if it was exceptionally busy because it was a Sunday but it was busy all the same. We passed a lot of the fishing docks which reminded me mostly of the smells from market… not pleasant. Past the hustle and bustle we go to the castle which is on a separate hill then everything else. You have to pay to get in but we walked around the area outside the walls and found some great places to get pictures of all of Elmina.

While we were walking back looking for the arts and crafts market we came across the most beautiful Dutch cemetery. It was surrounded by huge African trees and was at the bottom of this steep stone stairway towards the church. Church was still in session and we could here everyone singing, it was really great. We were taking pictures on the stairs when mass was let out and within minutes we were surrounded by kiddies wanting their pictures taken.

Once we got back to the house we had planned to go back to see Georgina to finish up our batik lessons. Unfortunately it was beginning to rain;, we also couldn’t get a hold of Georgina so that was out of the question. We once again didn’t have much to do. We found a box of games and the bag of scraps from the seamstresses, both things seemed to keep us busy till dinner. In the game box we found a murder mystery game which we brought to dinner with us. We also found some puzzles which we played with while we enjoyed some more afternoon stars. The scraps of fabric have been brought to the house so volunteers can come up with some cool ways to reuse the fabric. Im guessing this is where some of the placemats and coasters have come from that Global Mama’s already sells. We kept busy making bracelets and anklets. It was fun but I don’t think that’s just what GM had intended. We’ll think of something cool though. To fill the time Nick Katy C and I took another walk before dinner.

At Elis for dinner we had grilled cheese with cole slaw and salad cream and ground nut soup. For the game we had one too many people playing so two of us paired up. Sara and I were Eve Coli, the head chef. Carla was Mo Lawns, grounds keeper. Kelly was Paula Muscle, aerobics instructor. Nick was Juana Hunkyman, life guard. Katy C was Goldie Digger, co-owner of the resort and Maria was Carlos Ongas, driver. It was really funny when we had to translate for Maria. She speaks fine English but didn’t get some of the play on words. During dinner we all had to stay in character. We played charades and whoever won got to hear a secret about each player. The game was a lot of fun and I think we’re going to try make up some more for another time. Once we were back from dinner we stayed up looking through the fabric scraps. This helped us find the colors we can make and which ones we can’t.

SATURDAY

05|29|10

Saturday was a much deserved down day. The internet was working at the Elmina Hotel so we took our labtops to the pool and skyped with Mum and Dad. It was just what I needed since I was feeling sad and homesick. With not much to do we grabbed some early beers and sat up on the upstairs porch to journal and draw. I found some really cool African photography books that I got a lot of inspiration for new prints and styles. Today some of Marias friends came into town too; they are all French and she met them a year ago at that same private beach we had gone to on Tuesday. Only Sara, Katie and I went to dinner with them at Elis and we’re all glad we did. I think we all found our new favorite dish thus far. It’s called Palava; a spinach and tomato stew with boiled yams and plantains. During dinner Maria’s friend told us about their traveling and also to make sure we go to Kakum before June 1st when the prices will triple what they are now. Once we were done at dinner I went back over to the resort just to see if there was anyone else I could Skype with and to my surprise I was able to Skype with James. It was so amazing to be able to talk!!!!

FRIDAY

05|28|10

We were up very early and left the house by six in the morning. We made plans to go see Nzulezo. Nzulezo is a village on stilts about four hours west of Elmina. We first had to catch a cab into Cape Coat where we found Tro Tro which would take us directly there and back. Mind you this sounds a lot easier than it really is. Negotiating with these people is very difficult and it will be a lot harder in a week when we don’t have Ekieta to do the work for us. She is a volunteer who lives in Oregon but is originally from Nigeria. We were going to have to take a couple different tro tro’s to get to Nzulezo but with good bargaining we were able to have them take us the whole way there. The drive was around 4 or 5 hours long. By the time we got there we were all irritable from the heat and the uncomfortable seats. On the way we tried some sort of doughnut thing from one of the street sellers. These are everywhere and we’ve been wondering what they’re all about. We call them Doughboys and they are very yummy! I also bought some plantain chips which I have to say are now my favorite thing here!!! I think it the closest I’m going to get to chips without paying an arm and a leg. Kelly is going to talk to Eli and have her make Plantain chips and Guacamole (the avocados here have so much more flavor). She is going to make a killing from that!! In the last leg of our journey it was obvious that there was almost no civilization around and we worried that our tro tro drivers would leave us stranded when we left for our tour. The only view we had were remote villages and rubber tree farms. We collectively decided to pay for them to come on the trip with us. It was one a good deed since they had never been before and two we were guaranteed a ride back. took pictures along the way of buildings and landscape for color and design inspiration. To get to the village on stilts we had to take canoes through a man made creek to get to the lagoon. During the dry season the creek dries up and the canoe ride becomes a long walk. The people in the village use the lake to come to and from the land to farm and make trades. Using the creek makes the trip a lot faster. Since it is at the beginning of the dry season there were a few spots that weren’t deep enough for our boats to cross with us all in it. At this point I had just finished explaining to Sarah about schistosomiasis. Also known as bilharzias it’s a disease that you get from a parasitic worm which is found in the freshwater. I was warned so many times to make sure NOT to get in any freshwater. The process starts when someone infected with the schistosoma eggs use the freshwater as a toilet. The eggs hatch in the water and live off and grow inside snails. The parasites then leave the snail and then can penetrate the skin of anyone wading or swimming in that water up to 48 hours. The parasite are like little worms that grow inside your body and then lay their eggs in your blood vessels and travel to different parts of your body. The parasite needs the snail to live in the water which I’m sure was in the creek and lagoon since the tribe chose to live here because their God(the snail) was in abundance. So I had told Sara all this and started to put Neosporin on my feet because I had open cuts and there was water in our boat. While I was doing this was when our tour guide ordered me (specifically me to get out of the canoe). He explained that our boat was too heavy and that one of us needed to get out so it would float better. Well one I didn’t really understand why I was chosen but he explained that I was the only one that had short and and flip flop so it was easiest for me to get out. You only live once right? I guess we’ll find out in a few months if I got infected when worms start breaking through my skin!! The water was pleasant once I stopped thinking about parasitic worms. It was really clear and felt refreshing! The village was very impressive. You could take pictures but if someone was in your shot you had to ask for their permission. I believe it has something to do with stealing their soul. The village was a lot cleaner then most of the places we’re visited thus far. They even had garbage cans outside their hut. Most of the people that were around were lounging and playing cards. There are 500 people that live there and if they’re not in the village they have gone to work on the farm or fish. If they are gone they usually don’t come back for a few days. The best part of the day was the canoe ride their and back. We sang a lot and made lots of jokes. The tour guide said we were the liveliest bunch hes ever had and he liked it. Though I don’t think he was too impressed with our singing skill level since on the way back he played his radio to drown us out a bit. The ride back felt longer then the trip there which I didn’t think could be possible. It was such a long day, I don’t think we’ll do that sort of traveling in one day again. We originally didn’t have plans to eat at Eli’s but when we were on our ride home we gave Maria a call to have Eli whip up some comfort food for dinner. Eli made us a huge dinner of mac and cheese and it was the best way to end the stressful day.

THURSDAY

05|27|10


Thursday morning at the office we worked a little more on trend research. We were able to get on the Internet again so we looked up some trend color forecasts. I also looked at different colors for paint and wallpapering companies. We next worked on our stamp designs for the batik workshop. The stamps are made from latex foam which we had George go pick up from market. Its relatively cheap and since you don’t use much it can last for a while. I drew the design I wanted first onto the foam and then used a hand knife to carve away what I didn’t want. During lunch I went with Katie to the Barclay’s Bank. I needed to cash out my travelers check for the trip on Friday and this is the only place around that will do it. Unfortunately the bank is always busy. I mean I thought that US banks were bad; here you have three different lines you have to sit in. One is withdraw, one is deposit and another is business. There are about 8 rows back of seating with about 6 seats across. The line moves extra slow and when one person get up you have to scoot over a chair. It was really confusing at first but once we understood the system it was fine. We waited to be helped for well over an hour. Once we were being helped it seemed like the bank teller was doing a multitude of things all at once. The whole experience was rather frustrating and I have to say that after that I will gladly wait in any Chase bank line with no problem .. “Chase bank!”

Since the bank took so long, by the time we got back to the office our taxi was waiting to take us to the batik workshop. They only sent one taxi for all seven of us. Nick and I were put in the hatchback while everyone else got a real seat. I volunteered thinking the trunk would be roomier, which it was! Unfortunately there wasn’t much air flow so it was extremely hot!! I think I felt Pepo’s pain on that taxi ride and next time we go to the beach I’ll be more understanding of his bad behavior!!

BATIK
The batik method originated in Java; the word batik is translated meaning “to write/draw with wax.” Traditionally in Java the wax would be painted onto the fabric as a resistant so when the fabric is died the fibers are not penetrated and in result leave the area untouched. In Ghana the batik method is the same except that they use a stencil to stamp wax onto the fabric as opposed to drawing directly on to it.
In Ghana batik is done with vat dyes and cotton fabrics. In order for the fabrics to hold the dye a combination of chemicals is required, Caustic Soda, Hydrosulfate and salt. The caustic soda forces the fibers in the fabric to swell; this aids the fabric to soak up the dye. The salt is used to help fasten the dyes into the fabric. The hydrosulfate (which is called hydro in the markets) takes out the oxygen in the fibers and in result the dyes permanently stain the fabric.
There are two types of wax products that can be used in the batik method. The first is bee’s wax. The bee’s wax is not used in Ghana because it is too expensive to buy. The benefit of using bee wax is that it is more flexible. When handling the fabric between processes the bee’s wax can bend and doesn’t crack as often which will result in a cleaner finished image. In Ghana the women use a petroleum wax which is a waste product. Unlike bee wax this wax is more prone to cracking which you can see once the fabric has been dyed. When the batiker is finished with the dying process the fabric can be washed in boiling water which removes the wax; the wax is then scooped out of the pot and can be reused again.
The first step in creating batik is to design a stamp. Designs must be at least a ¼ inch thick and should have a ¼ inch between each line of the design. If the design is any thinner then this there will be a problem with consistency and it is hard to get a clear image. Larger more simplified designs are favored for this reason as well. Once a design is finalized it is drawn onto latex foam and then carved out. Depending on the look you want you will either carve away the positive or negative space. The stamp gets dipped into boiling wax; make sure to shake off the extra wax before using the stamp. It is beneficial to test the stamp first on the table (which is bound in leather) before stamping the fabric. When ready lye the fabric onto the table and stamp it however you desire. Depending on the stamp it could be uniformed or stamped sporadically in no specific order. Once the batiker is finished stamping the fabric it is placed in semi warm water until it is ready to be dyed. This keeps the wax from drying out which helps to minimize cracking. The dyes come as primary colors so mixing colors is more of a chemistry process to get the most accurate color. When dying the fabric, if more than one is used, the lightest color must be used first. When the fabric is died the wax will stop the penetration of dye and in result the color of the fabric before it was dyed will show up where the wax is creating the pattern. The fabric must be dried completely before stamping or dying the fabric again. Multiple dye baths can be done depending on the desired outcome.
Georgina, a batiker for Global Mama’s ran a workshop at her house for us interns to get hands on experience learning the traditional African batik method. We were given the option to use a ready made stamp or to create our own. I used the guidelines that we were given and designed a stamp to use. It was great experience to work with Gina and the fabric to see firsthand how hard the work is and what each step in tales. I also really appreciated that she would welcome us as strangers into her home to see what she does for a living.

When we were about half way through our batik workshop it began to rain. I’m thankful of the rain here because it helps cool the weather down a bit but for some reason it happens at the most unwanted times. Because it was raining he had to put our workshop on hold. The rain will have an effect on the colors when they dry. Getting home was difficult, the cabs were hard to flag down from where we were and when they did stop they didn’t want to drive to Elmina since it is so far and the chances of finding someone to need a ride back into town is slim. With Georgina’s help we were able to negotiate a good price and were finally on our way back. We didn’t get back till late and by that point we were all exhausted. We didn’t make plans to go to Eli’s and I had no food to make for dinner. I ended up making toast and then went to bed early to be well rested for the traveling on Friday.

WEDNESDAY

05|26|10



Once again in the morning I took a walk, just a quick one today since the weather wasn’t looking promising. When we got to the office the first thing we took care of was the Meredith dress. Fortunately the seamstress was able to take finish the alterations in time. We tried the dress on one of the quality control women and the alterations we made corrected all the problems we had with the dress before. Thankfully the alterations worked the first time and we could continue making the same changes to the small, large and extra-large sizes of Meredith dress yoke. Today we also received a list of each item from the previous season. Each garment was either being kept and altered in some way or it was scratched from the upcoming season and something shall take its place. We went over the past catalog to see what kind of changes we can do and to get some inspiration for prints and colors.

Once we were organized we began to do some trend research. We looked online in the beginning but because of the storm we lost power quite early and had to look through magazines instead. We manly began looking for color inspiration. The magazines have a lot to offer but I think we can get a lot of inspiration from Ghana since we’re here. The houses are all painted in bright colors all different from the next. The forests and ocean have a lot to offer too so where ever we go I have been making a point to capture as many colors as I can with my camera. For lunch I walked through the town to our fruit lady. There are so many women selling fruit but we go to this lady because hers is the cheapest and most flavorful. I think I like her the most because she sings the whole time she cuts your fruit! I decided to have a fresh mango for lunch which was very delicious!! Once we were back from lunch us volunteers spent the last bit of work thinking about and sketching new designs for prints to batik. Thursday at 2:30 Georgina will be giving us a batik workshop at her house. We have the choice to make our own stamp or use one already made. Obviously we all opted to make our own.

For dinner at Eli’s we had a garlic and ginger vegetable curry with rice. She also served us a ginger pineapple juice which was so good. I usually don’t enjoy too much of a ginger taste but the flavor is so good here!

TUESDAY

05|25|10

Today was National Africa United Holiday so we had the day off work. A few of us took this opportunity to go to one of the private beaches which is about 15 minutes away from Elmina. I’m so glad I went because the weather was perfect and it was just the sort of relaxation I had needed after a long couple of days. Before leaving for the beach Nick and I had woke up early again to take another walk down through Elmina. I got some great photos of some of the local children; they either love getting their photo taken or hate it. For some reason this day they all wanted a photo.



The beach was about a 15 minute drive west from our house. We had to call a taxi driver that Maria knew would take Pepo in his car. Pepo does not like car rides!!!! We put him in the hatchback trunk and every few minutes he would try leap out of the back seat. By the end of the drive my arms and back were soaking wet from his slobber. The beach was amazing!! We had some of the workers set up hammocks for us between the trees. The day was spent between laying around and jumping the wave. The water and the sand were cleaner than I had expected. The only action Tuesday saw was when I decided to fetch a coconut from the tree. With much persistence I finally got a few down for us to try. They were defiantly not ripe but I was still proud that I managed to climb a coconut tree so we drank them anyway. We brought some fruit with us too; leches and garden fruit. They both have bizarre textures but are really sweet and have a nice flavor. We left around 5pm with just enough time to make it back for a shower and dinner at Eli’s.
Dinner at elies was Banku which is another dish I have been looking forward to. Banku is boilded fermented corn dough with okra stew. The banku I supposed to act like a spoon so u are supposed to mash it between your thumb and two fingers and use it to scoop up the stew. Just like fufu you’re not supposed to chew the banku but swallow it down whole with the stew. The texture is slimy and somewhat grainy.

MONDAY

05|24|10

Today was our first day into Cape Coast for work. The sun falls and rises very early so waking up early isn’t a problem. Up at 5am and went for a walk down the road into Elmina with Nick. It was really refreshing and I think it is something that I want to continue doing while I’m here. We took a taxi into town which takes around ten minutes depending on the traffic. When you hail a taxi you must point in the direction of where you’re going. Once a cab comes up you have to first ask if it is shared, if it isn’t shared it will cost more money. If the cab is shared you must tell them that you will pay 80 pesewa; anything more and their trying to rip you off. Once you’re in you have to tell them to drop you off at Becanu. This is a central spot that they all know which is close to the office.
The Global Mama’s office building is in an old church, the architecture is really interesting. The building is two levels and the surrounding garden is large and fenced in. We met a lot of the staff, mostly the quality control crew. There is one office which is air-conditioned; this is only to keep the computers cool so they don’t crash. They use that office to talk to the US office and to make and follow different orders.
After a quick look around one of the quality control workers, George took us around Cape Coast to show us around to help us get acquainted. Our building is off the road closest to the sea. We are very close to the Victoria square; this is similar to an outdoor auditorium where people can gather for festivals or to listen to public speakers. It also looks like they play football matches here. Continuing along we stopped at the Oasis which is a bar and restaurant. It is right off the water and is a good place to watch live acts like acrobats and drummers. We took a stroll from the Oasis onto the beach. There was a large crowd gathered and we were intrigued to see what they were up to. We found that they were all fishermen and they were going through their nets to see what they had found. One boy had grabbed a crab out of the net and they seemed to want to get rid of it. I bravely held it, only long enough to take a picture though because it began to wriggle a lot and I wasn’t going to get nipped.
Next we headed towards the Cape Coast Castle, its 9.50 Cedi to take a tour which I will like to do very soon. We continued walking in through town. All of the streets look the same, lined with mini shops selling mostly the same things. I can’t begin to tell you how intense the streets and market are. There are people everywhere trying to sell you anything they can. The smells are rather intense aswell. The sewers are open on every street so the smell is overwhelming. People use them as toilets and as a place to throw garbage. They are also a feeding ground for the street animals. These sewers make it for really dangerous walking conditions. Cars on the street drive so close to you; they’re constantly beeping, I think sometimes for no good reason too. So while you’re trying to ignore the people talking to you and trying to sell you things you also have to watch out to not get hit by cars all while watching where you step because the last thing you want to do is fall into one of those sewers. Most of them are not that deep(maybe a foot or two) so the fall wouldn’t b too bad. But I can visualize myself walking into one and cutting my legs open and getting some horrible infection from whatever is floating in them.
I forgot my water bottle so today was the first day I tried a Pure Water. They are small .5 liter sacks of purified water. To drink them you bite off a corner and suck. Some of the main places we stopped were at the supermarket, the Heritage House, the market and the fruit stand. The supermarket reminds me of the flea market back home; they had wide variety of thing you can buy; we mainly go there for food items. The Heritage House sticks out among the rest of the buildings here. It looks rather new and well kept. Here is where you go if you are trying to plan a trip somewhere. We stopped in to ask about Kakum National Rainforest and to see when would be a good time to go. The market will probably be a place I don’t frequent often. The overwhelming smells of meat and fish are too much for me. I would like to go back at some point though because with the meat and fish there was also an abundance of fresh vegetables which looked really tasty. George took us to see the lady that they buy fruit from and the bread lady. For just one Cedi you can get a fresh mango and she’ll cut it up there for you. You can also get watermelon, passion fruit, apples, oranges and bananas. The bread here is also very cheap (one small loaf for 60 Pesewa). On some days if your too busy to leave the office George told us that there is a woman that brings watermelon and bread directly to the office.
After seeing Cape Coast we took a short break before we learnt more about the Quality Control Process. Walking around in the sun makes you more tired than expected. The workers first must inspect the fabrics for dying problems. If there are any inconsistancies in the dye or the color doesn’t match close enough to the desired color the fabric isn’t suitable. Also if the print has any inconsistancies a section is then taped off and the seamstress knows to try work around it. Once the seamstress sews the product the product has to go through inspections to make sure that all the sizing is correct. Each measurement must be within ¼ inch of the pattern. The workers also check the seams and zippers to make sure there aren’t any imperfections. Each piece of fabric and garment goes through every inspection twice, first through the men’s inspection and then the women will go back and inspect again. They say they do this because the women will pick out what the men didn’t notice. Any of the products that have imperfections cannot go out in an order and will end up at the Global Mama’s store and be sold for a little bit cheaper.


Our first assignment was to fix a problem on the existing Meredith dress. The US office had said that there were complains that the fit around the neckline and shoulders wasn’t fitting well and the sleeves fell down easily; the armhole was also too small. The US office asked if we could fix the order which was to be sent out at the end of the week. Once we came up with a plan the new pattern would be sent off to the seamstress where she would have to take the dress apart and use the new pattern pieces we altered. For the last part of the day we discussed how we could come up with the quickest and most efficient way to solve the issue. Once we decided what to do we re-patterned the piece before we left. Tuesday is Africa United national holiday so we wanted to make sure that the alterations were given to the seamstress by Monday so the new Meredith dress would be ready by Wednesday when we were back at the office. Before we left one of the women came round selling this ice-pop bag. It was frozen ginger and watermelon juice. It was incredible!!
That night when we got home Ellen gave us our first Fante lesson. We learned how to pronounce each letter of their alphabet and learned the numbers one through ten. I’m looking forward to learning more from Ellen. After lessons we made our way over to Eli’s spot where we had Gari Fotor for dinner. On the way I grabbed a Cider to drink with dinner from the corner shop. It is a spicy vegetable stew with gari. The only way I can explain what gari is like would be to say that it’s somewhat like a dry couscous. Dinner was really great, and filling. Each night we have been going to bed just after dinner. The sun goes down really early and since the days are really long we are all wiped by 8 or 9 o’clock.