Being Creative

The weeding/sweeping/drawing team are expanding since I gave them 1 cedi (33p) to share as reward for weeding down one side of the house the other day. Evidently, this was a lot as they were only expecting 10 peshwas each. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any coins so they were left to organise how they would share the note between 5 of them. They swiftly dashed off home with it as heavy rain was threatening so I have no idea what consternation this caused between the 2 homes.

Yesterday, they returned and waited noisily on the veranda step whilst I finished preparing Konkonte. (I’ll explain about that on another occasion. It falls between fufu and TZ in a culinary sense!)When I eventually opened the gate, I was amazed to find them all moulding clay models.              

                                                           

 The models were lovely and the clay seemed very good quality.

When I asked where it came from, they took me to see. We only walked a few metres from my front gate.

This is the remains of an old termite mound under a tree. Termites process the soil and leave behind a pile of high quality, smooth clay. Rain from the previous day had left it in perfect moulding consistency and the children had just pulled lumps from it.

Naturally, when I produced a camera there was a lot of posing and an impromptu display of Azonto.  Azonto is a popular dance that looks like a variation of street dancing involving copious punching the air in all directions. I’m assuming it’s African and hasn’t caught on in Europe yet. If not it should do. The children are terrific at it.

Well, I am heading for Accra on Monday, to meet friends from England and visit some familiar and also some new places in Ghana, before bringing them up here to Nadowli for almost a week. I shall not be posting blog news for about 3 weeks but hope to have new material and photos to share with you then.