Global Mamas

Does trade help the poorest? I suppose the answer is: Sometimes. Depends on how industries are organized, demand and supply for labor, that sort of thing.


Visitors chat with one of the Global Mamas organizers.

Global Mamas has an interesting business model, essentially pulling together a network of women-owned cottage sewing shops to fulfill bulk orders. The order comes in and is passed out to all the sewing shops, with each shop fulfilling a part of the order.


Inside the Global Mamas Shop

It's organized around the "Fair Trade" concept, specifying a set of labor practices they pledge to follow. They specialize in what you might call artisanal apparel, with African designs, particularly popular for very small children in general, and also with the adult diaspora.


African Styles at Global Mamas

Might be hard to organize cottage shops to produce things like uniforms, where each item of apparel must be precisely the same. There's more demand in the uniform market, for example, than in the artisanal market. Volumes are much higher. Which is more likely to lift poor women in Africa out of poverty? My money's on the latter, but I still like the Global Mamas idea.

Bike Shop

There are lots of guys sitting under trees in various parts of town who purport to do bicycle repairs. Most just patch tires.


Mr. Abass in front of his repair shop.

Mr. Abass runs a bike repair shop in La. He does a fantastic job. On this visit, he provided new handlebar grips and a gear shift tune up for $3, and I suspect that's more than he charges his regular customers.


My bike, with new grips, on the rack attached to the rear of my car.

Suppose we collected all the used bikes gathering dust in our garages, and simply gave them to Africans. I've given away a couple myself, actually, to some people who are now VERY happy. Good thing? I suppose so.

Can't help wondering, though, what would happen to all those shops in town (and their employees) that sell bikes if suddenly all their clients were able to get them for free. Free stuff always seems to have complicated and unintended side effects.

Tropical Plants

Fresh coconut for 25 cents available at the roadside by local plant nursery.

Bits and pieces of land throughout the city, though especially around the edges, are filled with all kinds of small businesses. They occupy rights of way, undeveloped parcels, whatever's available. They pay no rent, taxes, utilities. Their products are of course priced accordingly.


What they lack in expert advice, they make up in price and variety.

Moses (my expert gardener and chief of residential security) was astonished to find bags of potting soil just off Spintex Road near the Tema Motorway for just $1 (GHC 10,000), or about a third what we were paying at a more substantial gardening center in town, and with similar discounts on plants.

A bit hard for the "formal" businesses to compete, I suppose. There are some who'd favor policies to stamp out these "informal" ones, or at least force them to pay taxes and license fees.


Moses plants a mix of shade plants along the front fence.

Hard to know what taxes and license fees would do to businesses in the informal sector. Kind of like the public-policy debate over things like raising the minimum wage, or forcing food carts to pay higher fees when they operate in front of established restaurants. Would the little operations simply go out of business? Would there simply be more unemployed? Or would it allow the more established businesses to grow faster and pay more and higher wages themselves?

Meanwhile, my front fence looks much nicer.

Got Game

After picking up a few pots for some bougainvillia cuttings, Samuel and I headed toward Spintex Road by Tetteh Quarshie Circle for a look at the new Game store that held its grand opening this weekend. The parking lot was packed.



There's never been a store like this in Ghana. Everyone was curious. I half expected chaos and empty shelves. Instead, it was picture perfect, and fully stocked. I felt like I was in a Walmart. Picked up some windshield wiper fluid and some plastic food containers. Browsed the DVD players. Samuel hunted for one of those flashlights with rechargable batteries.

Inconvenience

The British Council in Ghana aired the Al Gore film as part of the third annual Accra Environmental Film Festival. Abdul fell asleep during the screening, perhaps because he'd not had time for supper beforehand, or perhaps for some other reason. Moses felt the film was "somehow boring" but decided he might nonetheless consider reducing his personal carbon emissions (charcoal).

For me the most interesting statistic was that the oceans could rise a full 20 feet. Samuel reflected on what the boundaries of Accra might look like if that happened. Most of Accra would be ok, since it's on generally high ground, though we might lose the Trade Fair and the Labadie Beach Hotel. Samuel's home in Nungua would be fine.



All agreed afterward that it might be more fun to see the Refugee All Stars at Busy Internet on Monday.

Fishing

The net might be 300 meters long and 10 meters deep, weighted and suspended from a cable, one end of which is tied to a tree on shore. The fishing team is perhaps 30 people in all, including small children. A half dozen team members in a canoe feed the net out as they trace a wide arc out to sea and back to shore, where the other end of the cable is then tied off to a second tree.



The rest of the team, remaining on shore, divides into two groups that simultaneously haul in both ends of the cable, slowly drawing the net ashore. It's hard work. A friend and I pitched in, but it was slow going, maybe a meter or two per minute. It might take an hour to haul it in completely. Then women with pans gather to buy the fish, carrying them to markets in the area.



We'd pulled our car over to watch. When we approached to get a better view, several of the team members requested a contribution. I asked, "How much?" A group of senior team members conferred. "100 thousand," was their determination, about $10. "OK, but I get to take pictures." The leader seemed astonished, took the money, and everyone gathered around for the photo.

Dobet

A small group of us had dinner over at the Maquis. Spicey kedjenou and attiéké. Afterward I swung by the house to pick up Abdul and Moses.



Packed house at the Alliance for the concert by Dobet Gnahoré and her band. Standing room in fact. Fantastic music, available here. Moses declared it "very interesting"!

Ghana at 50

I listened this morning on JoyFM to the 50th anniversary speech by Ghana's President Kufour. While I could have simply switched on my radio, it seemed somehow fitting to catch it via the Internet. National Public Radio had a live report as well for American listeners, which I caught via satellite.


Kwame Nkrumah, 1st President, at 1957 Ceremony

Accra is completely enveloped by an endless bolt of red, gold, and green cloth, quite marvelous to see, actually. Flags on cars, banners wrapped around trees, painted faces. Thousands gathered in Independence Square for the formal festivities. I hear Stevie Wonder will be in town to perform "Happy Birthday" later in the day.



The Government reportedly spent some $20 million to prepare for the celebrations. Not everyone's happy about that. Where one stands on Ghana at 50 seems to depend on where one sits. "Will the celebrations bring electricity to my village?" one young man asked me.

Hmm, maybe.

The country is growing fast (relative to its neighbors). Image is a factor in attracting investment. Lots of visitors will carry home impressions of pride, enthusiasm, and excitement.

"I'm very proud to be a Ghanaian!" said one woman interviewed by BBC in the crowd downtown. "This is a wonderful day," said another. "Ghana is seen as a rare African success story," BBC reports.


View of 50th Fireworks from My Bedroom Window

Fish

From Accra, traveling on the coast road past Teshie and Nungua, veering right at the police barrier, along the beach the fishmongers set up small booths, similar to those used by the sellers of mobile phone cards. Popular varieties are red fish, small yellowfin tuna, sole, croaker, and octopus.



The ladies are always glad to see me. I pay high prices. I ask only for the filet and let them keep the heads. What's not to like?



A recent report in IRIN News suggests the fishery in West Africa is being depleted. Catches seem slim. The ladies report they're not as busy as they used to be.

New Blog

Been distracted lately by my newest blog, a consequence of having been drafted secretary of the Accra Tema Yacht Club. Check it out!

Weekends

There was this fellow, Bernoulli, who in the 1700s figured out that the movement of a gas changes its pressure. Since a sail (or an airplane wing) is curved, air moves over its two surfaces at different speeds, generally faster over the outside of the curve, slower over the inside.



I read an article this week that says even a flat barn door can act as a wing, and that it is thus the angle of attack (the angle of the sail/wing relative to the direction of the air flow) rather than curvature that really matters. I ponder these matters from a hammock at the mouth of the Volta.

Go-Karts

A year and a half in Ghana, and this was my first trip to Labadi Beach. Abdul dined on jollof and chicken, while I tried the redfish and chips. We desided to pass on the chance to ride a horse.



Afterward we stopped by the go-kart track in the rear of the Trade Fair. About $8 for 10 minutes, somewhat pricey. Abdul's first time behind the wheel, fortunately the only one on the track. A bit timid at first.



As we were leaving, a group of perhaps 10 teenagers arrived. Abdul mused it would be more interesting to race. We'll invite Moses next time.

MLK Day

W.E.B. DuBois spent his last years in Ghana living within an easy walk of my home in Accra. His house is now a museum. His gravesite is on the grounds. There's also an art center, restaurant, and outdoor stage.



The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's, Professor Ralph Johnson (center) of Johns Hopkins University presented a plaque to the DuBois Centre during Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations this year. Professor Anne Adams (right), Director of the Centre, received the plaque. Assisting was Professor Robert Harris Jr. of Cornell (left) who also offered a 15 minute address entitled "MLK and African Liberation."



The U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Pamela Bridgewater, announced winners of a school contest. Students wrote poems and essays in honor of Dr. King.



A prize was also offered for the best painting. Judges included distinguished Ghanaian academics as well as a visiting scholar from the U.S., Kwame Zulu Shabazz (frontmost photographer).



Some of the students made presentations about their award-winning creations. Afterward, DuBois Centre staff served ice cream and cakes in the main hall of the museum.

Goat Stew

Harmattan winds are strong this year, causing the giant Kakum Forest trees to sway, sometimes in the same direction, sometimes not. As two trees happen to sway away from each other, the canopy walk strung between them is pulled taut, the center rising like a fast elevator to its highest point, only to reverse direction suddenly as the trees reverse course and come together again. For the strong of heart, it's unexpectedly exhilerating.



It's kind of a standard tour in Ghana, particularly for those visiting just for a few days. Canopy walk, then the castles, a beach or two. Standard because it's good. The Cape Coast Castle has a fine museum, and the docents do superb tours.



Brother and I stopped off at the Aburi Botanical Gardens on the way home, checking out the canteen for some local cuisine. If you're a fan of Louisiana cooking, you'll feel right at home in Ghana.