Village Stay – Short Stories

To give you a bit of an overview of my village stay, I have decided to write a few short stories  from different moments that I particularly remember and to give you some idea about my thoughts and actions during this time.

Story 1 – Roof Repair

On my first day in the village, I witnessed a few men repairing the roof of the turkey stall.    When constructing a roof, there are two options: straw and tin.  There is a cost difference between the two with the straw roof being cheaper to construct in the short term but also requiring repairs every two or three years.   The roof we were constructing was made of straw and to do it, three men were volunteering their time in what is commonly referred to as communal labour.  They did not receive any financial renumeration for the day’s work but they did receive food and drink from my host mother Tina. 

Before beginning the roof construction, you need to collect several meters of bark from the Canfef tree (Jude family) that can be used as string to tie everything together. (See Picture 1).  This bark has to be kept moist at all times to ensure its flexibility and strength.

You also have to either buy or make two types of straw mats.  One type is cross-woven straw and the other type is straw that has been all arranged in the same direction and is then tied together.

To begin roof construction, you first need several strong branches that can be erected in a manner similar to a wigwam and then tied together at the top with the bark rope.  Then, you need to make the cross-members.  To do this, take pieces of old roof and tie them together with the bark rope to make one long piece of straw rope that you then wind around the wigwam structure.  (See Picture 2).  Then, you apply the first level of cross-woven straw that you then tie down to the structural elements with the bark rope.  Once this is secured, you spread the second type of straw mat over the roof and then tie it down in a similar manner.  Once these two mats are secured, add a second mat of the second type for added coverage and then secure the top with some kind of pot or bag so as to prevent water from entering the top of the structure. 

This is just one story of my village experience.  I will list titles for short story topics that I can write about in future blog posts about this experience.  Please write in your comments which story you would be most interested in and then I will publish it in future posts.

Story 2 – Helping around the house (Getting water from the borehole and the hand-dug well, sweeping the compound, preparing lettuce, getting termites for the young turkeys…)
Story 4 – Ghanian Hospitality – The reception of an honoured guest.
Story 5 – When the sun goes down - Living without electricity
Story 6 – Intense Heat – Afternoons in the shade
Story 7 – Funeral Rituals here