So I was broken into the Shea group. We all leave Techiman and head off for Tumu, in the Upper West region. The rode to Tumu is in shambles! This rode turns into a dirt road filled with potholes and huge trenches. It’s like we’ve been off roading and by the time we make it to the hostel/hotel (about 9 hours later or so) there are definitely people with car sickness. Our counterparts are waiting for us (which is a surprise to me) when we arrive. I was definitely not in a talking mood when I got there.
We stay at these really nice old Swiss ladies establishment. They feed us banana pancakes one morning which were AMAZING for all the Americans and a huge dud for the Ghanaians. It was actually pretty universal that anything we found delicious (the pumpkin pie, the mouth watering papaya jam…) the Ghanaians didn’t like too much and vice versa. Different pallets I suppose.
Anyway we have a day of lectures and then the next day we travel to a nearby village to learn about Shea butter. There a current PCV who lives there and coincidentally he had the host parents as I do now! Interesting coincidence. So at this village we get to learn how to make Shea butter, starting from the fruit on a tree and ending with a ball of butter. I can now officially say I know how to make something from start to finish! It is a huge project and definitely very labor intensive. This is the gist of the process: Gather the fruit, de-pulp it, dry the seeds, crack the coat of the seed and collect the nut, grind the seeds up, roast them, pound the seeds into oblivion, grind the pounded seeds, put the now paste into a basin and slowly add water, stir the buhjesus out of it, collect the white foamy oil that forms, and then put it over fire for a very long time.
We all got to try our hands at the different steps and I could definitely appreciate the hard work that goes into it all.
We learned how to do grafting of trees also! In specific we practiced on the Shea Tree. Grafting is where you take off a small limb of an existing mature tree and then transplant it onto a younger sapling type tree of the same species. If the young tree accepts the new limb the time for it to mature and fruit will be drastically cut. It was really cool.
We learned how to do grafting of trees also! In specific we practiced on the Shea Tree. Grafting is where you take off a small limb of an existing mature tree and then transplant it onto a younger sapling type tree of the same species. If the young tree accepts the new limb the time for it to mature and fruit will be drastically cut. It was really cool.
Shoot! I'm outa time at the internet cafe. Too much FB, I'm sorry! Guess there will have to be a part 3.
Some of the surrounding landscape at the Monastery. I did Yoga with Josh one night (the person in the picture) and it was awesome!
Greater good greater good greater good...
Team work on the Shea butter making.
Of course I touched the croc!
Oh THANKS to everybody who has sent me a letter! I know for a fact I've only written 2 of you back and that's because I haven't been able to get to a post office. Please know that I'll definitely get to all of your wonderful letters. :)
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