‘Mountain Afadjato Geography Tourism Volta Region
‘Mountain Afadjato Geography Tourism Volta Region Conservtion Resourcesl’
Mountain Afadjato
I finally came face to face with the great Mountain Afadjato a couple of days ago, decades after I had heard of that mountain. Mountain Afadjato is nestled among other mountains; the Agumatsa range and high hills which form part of the Akwapim-Togo ranges along Ghana’s border with Togo. It is a few kilometers drive from Hohoe in the Volta Region. The mountain stands at 2,905 ft above sea level and it is possible to climb it from Gbledi-Gbogame. At the top of the mountain, climbers are provided with a panoramic view of villages, towns, deep valleys and the Volta Lake as far as the eye can see.
However, what any visitor would find very commendable is the effort being made by people living in three communities in the area to preserve the natural flora and fauna around the mountain. Mr. David Logotse, a Community Forest Guard, said the Afadjato-Agumatsta Conservation and Eco-Tourism Initiative was established in reaction to fears that continuous bushfires being experienced in the area in the past could destroy its natural vegetation if nothing was done about it. “We the community members approached the Department of Game and Wildlife for technical support which eventually led to the establishment of the 13 km2 conservation park in 1998 with funding from the Nertherlands Embassy”, he said.
They demarcated a buffer zone, and also created a fire belt that is weeded periodically to ward off bushfires, which sometimes emanated from neigbouring Togo. People were stopped from hunting, logging, or cultivating crops within the park. This was reinforced by a bye-law passed by the district assembly prohibiting all forms of human activity in the park. During the closed season for hunting, people can be arrested for hunting duikers, antelopes, monkeys and other animals in the area.
“The assistance package provided by the Nertherlands Embassy also provided training in alternative livelihoods such as beekeeping, snail and grass cutter farming for community inhabitants so that they do not need to poach or cultivate crops within the conservation park”, Mr. Logotse said.
The reserve is home to 33 mammals. These include the bush buck, Maxwell duikers, the Mona and the White- Spotted Nose monkeys, the long tailed pangolin, and the mongoose, which eats a lot of snakes and has reduced their population in the area.
Over 150 birds nestle in its trees “This is an important bird area for the whole Ghana, it is birdlife international. We are in partnership with The Department for Game and Wildlife who normally come to do their research on birds here. So if you kill a bird here, you are under arrest”, Mr. Logotse disclosed. The area also boasts of about 355 species of butterflies.
Its flora includes over 430 plant species, some of which are useful to the community. These include Abrus precatorius, with black and red seeds used for making beads and dolls, and Ceiba pentadra, commonly known as the silk cotton tree, whose huge trunk is used in making dug-out canoes, its tufts used as stuffing for pillows and mattresses while its leaves are eaten. The Bambusa vulgaris provides the raw material for the beautiful bamboo furniture one sees being displayed along some routes in Accra. For local communities, bamboo is used as yam stakes and fuel wood. The huge globular fruits of the Crescentia cujete are used for making calabashes and gourds while the gum and resins from the bark of Daniellia oliveri is burnt as incense in the local churches with the wood used for building construction and furniture. A lot of medicinal plants also abound here.
The Afadjato-Agumatsa Conservation and Eco-Tourism Initiative is a combination of nature and the comforts of modern technology. “Guiness Ghana Limited provided the park with a mechanized pipe and we also have electricity”, says the forest guard. For a fee ranging from three to seven Ghana cedis, one can pitch a tent on the rich green grass on the grounds of the park and rest on nature’s carpet surrounded by mountain peaks after trekking through the mountains. No wonder then that people flock to the park to catch a glimpse of nature without sacrificing the comforts of civilisation. “We now have a lot of visitors. From Thursday, Friday Saturday and Sunday, they come in their numbers” says Mr. Logotse. So why not be part of this influx of visitors. Next time you think of a place of relaxation, simply board a vehicle to Hohoe from where you can make your way to the reserve. Don’t be like me who waited decades to see Ghana’s highest mountain.
Mountain Afadjato
I finally came face to face with the great Mountain Afadjato a couple of days ago, decades after I had heard of that mountain. Mountain Afadjato is nestled among other mountains; the Agumatsa range and high hills which form part of the Akwapim-Togo ranges along Ghana’s border with Togo. It is a few kilometers drive from Hohoe in the Volta Region. The mountain stands at 2,905 ft above sea level and it is possible to climb it from Gbledi-Gbogame. At the top of the mountain, climbers are provided with a panoramic view of villages, towns, deep valleys and the Volta Lake as far as the eye can see.
However, what any visitor would find very commendable is the effort being made by people living in three communities in the area to preserve the natural flora and fauna around the mountain. Mr. David Logotse, a Community Forest Guard, said the Afadjato-Agumatsta Conservation and Eco-Tourism Initiative was established in reaction to fears that continuous bushfires being experienced in the area in the past could destroy its natural vegetation if nothing was done about it. “We the community members approached the Department of Game and Wildlife for technical support which eventually led to the establishment of the 13 km2 conservation park in 1998 with funding from the Nertherlands Embassy”, he said.
They demarcated a buffer zone, and also created a fire belt that is weeded periodically to ward off bushfires, which sometimes emanated from neigbouring Togo. People were stopped from hunting, logging, or cultivating crops within the park. This was reinforced by a bye-law passed by the district assembly prohibiting all forms of human activity in the park. During the closed season for hunting, people can be arrested for hunting duikers, antelopes, monkeys and other animals in the area.
“The assistance package provided by the Nertherlands Embassy also provided training in alternative livelihoods such as beekeeping, snail and grass cutter farming for community inhabitants so that they do not need to poach or cultivate crops within the conservation park”, Mr. Logotse said.
The reserve is home to 33 mammals. These include the bush buck, Maxwell duikers, the Mona and the White- Spotted Nose monkeys, the long tailed pangolin, and the mongoose, which eats a lot of snakes and has reduced their population in the area.
Over 150 birds nestle in its trees “This is an important bird area for the whole Ghana, it is birdlife international. We are in partnership with The Department for Game and Wildlife who normally come to do their research on birds here. So if you kill a bird here, you are under arrest”, Mr. Logotse disclosed. The area also boasts of about 355 species of butterflies.
Its flora includes over 430 plant species, some of which are useful to the community. These include Abrus precatorius, with black and red seeds used for making beads and dolls, and Ceiba pentadra, commonly known as the silk cotton tree, whose huge trunk is used in making dug-out canoes, its tufts used as stuffing for pillows and mattresses while its leaves are eaten. The Bambusa vulgaris provides the raw material for the beautiful bamboo furniture one sees being displayed along some routes in Accra. For local communities, bamboo is used as yam stakes and fuel wood. The huge globular fruits of the Crescentia cujete are used for making calabashes and gourds while the gum and resins from the bark of Daniellia oliveri is burnt as incense in the local churches with the wood used for building construction and furniture. A lot of medicinal plants also abound here.
The Afadjato-Agumatsa Conservation and Eco-Tourism Initiative is a combination of nature and the comforts of modern technology. “Guiness Ghana Limited provided the park with a mechanized pipe and we also have electricity”, says the forest guard. For a fee ranging from three to seven Ghana cedis, one can pitch a tent on the rich green grass on the grounds of the park and rest on nature’s carpet surrounded by mountain peaks after trekking through the mountains. No wonder then that people flock to the park to catch a glimpse of nature without sacrificing the comforts of civilisation. “We now have a lot of visitors. From Thursday, Friday Saturday and Sunday, they come in their numbers” says Mr. Logotse. So why not be part of this influx of visitors. Next time you think of a place of relaxation, simply board a vehicle to Hohoe from where you can make your way to the reserve. Don’t be like me who waited decades to see Ghana’s highest mountain.
BY: GILCHRIST KUMAH [[DJ SUPREMO]]
Wednesday, 11 January 2017
Eweland Agbadza Dance_BY:GILCHRIST KUMAH {DJ SUPREMO}_WWW.VOLTAPLUZZ.BLOGSPOT.COM
The Ewe have an intricate collection of dances, which vary between geographical regions and other factors. One such dance is the Adevu (Ade – hunting, Vu – dance). This is a professional dance that celebrates the hunter. They are meant both to make animals easier to hunt and to give animals a ritual ‘funeral’ in order to prevent the animal’s spirit from returning and harming the hunter.
Another , the Agbadza, is traditionally a war dance but is now used in social and recreational situations to 
celebrate
peace. War dances are sometimes used as military training exercises,
with signals from the lead drum ordering the warriors to move ahead, to
the right, go down, etc. These dances also helped in preparing the
warriors for battle and upon their return from fighting they would act
out their deeds in battle through their movements in the dance.
The Atsiagbekor is a contemporary version of the Ewe war dance Atamga (Great (ga) Oath (atama) in reference to the oaths taken by people before proceeding into battle. The movements of this present-day version are mostly in platoon formation and are not only used to display battle tactics, but also to energize and invigorate the soldiers. Today, Atsiagbekor is performed for entertainment at social gatherings and at cultural presentations.
The Atsia dance, which is performed mostly by women, is a series of stylistic movements dictated to dancers by the lead drummer. Each dance movement has its own prescribed rhythmic pattern, which is synchronized with the lead drum. ‘Atsia’ in the Ewe language means style or display.
The Ewe-speaking people in the central and northern parts of the Volta Region of Ghana cultivate the Bɔbɔɔbɔ dance. Bɔbɔɔbɔ (originally ‘Akpese’) might have originated in the Kpando area, and is said to have been created by the late Mr. Francis Kojo Nuadro. He is thought to have been an ex-police officer who returned to Kpando and organized a group in the middle to late 1940’s. The dance has its roots in the ‘Highlife’ popular music of Ghana and other West African countries. Borborbor gained national recognition in the 1950’s and 1960’s because of its use at political rallies and the novelty of its dance formations and movements. It is generally performed at funerals and other social occasions. This is a social dance with a great deal of room for free expression. In general, the men sing and dance in the center while the women dance in a ring around them. There are ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ versions of Borborbor; the fast Borborbor is believed to come from the Kpando area and the slow version from Hohoe. The slow one is called Akpese and the fast one is termed to be Borborbor. Lolobi-Kumasi is known for doing a particular fast version of the slow version.
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