Saturday, February 19, 2011

Beads!

Please do not read too much into any grammatical errors. I wrote Beads! and Dam! on a bus while bouncing down some of Ghana's finest paved and unpaved roads.

After our dam tour, we dropped by the hotel to grab lunch. As there are only three men in our group, we got a special, larger room. Upon entering, there was only a small twin bed and a small bathroom with a shower. Looking to the right, a spiral staircase ascended to a second level. We were greeted by cathedral ceilings, large windows with river views and a small baloney. I fully looked forward to a hot shower, a good night’s sleep and air conditioning.

After a decent although expensive buffet lunch, we climbed back into the vans to go to Cedi Bead Factory under ominous skies. Driving through a small town just before our turn off, the sky opened up, dumping rain. Quickly, the streets became rivers of dark muddy water as the trenches were inadequate for the job. Shortly after turning off the paved main road onto a dirt secondary road, we dropped into a particularly deep hole. A loud bang complained of the indecency. Driving forward, a dragging sound of metal led to a quick stop. Our program director’s husband who was our driver got out in the pouring rain and muddy stream of a street to find the van’s spare tire had been dislodged from its usual position and was dragging under the rear axle. Throwing the tire onto the roof, we continue down the lane which was the worst road thus far in Ghana, compounding by its sudden conversion into a stream.

Shortly after arriving at the Cedi Bead factory, the rain stopped. We have seen beads all over Ghana although at for high prices. Our other driver had a yellow beaded bracelet. Ushered under a pavilion, we were given a talk about how the beads are made. They begin by first making molds. Since the molds must be able to survive 1,000 degree Celsius temperatures, old termite mounds are repurposed to become clay molds. These mounds are found all over Ghana including the UG campus and just one usually lasts the factory a decade or so. Termite saliva is the key ingredient.

For bead material, recycled glass bottles are ground into a powder. They had a bunch of old bottles that formerly contained alcoholic so there is a decent chance that that beautiful blue bead may have begun life holding Bailey’s Irish Cream ™. Once ground, one color is selected as a base while other colors are mixed and layered into the mold to get the intricate patterns. Then, the molds are inserted into a kiln for 30-40 minutes at about 1,000 degrees Celsius. The kiln used to be made out of the same clay as the molds but they would collapse after a few days of use and would have to be rebuilt. Today, kilns are made of cast iron and scrap metal. Once a bead is finished cooking, they are pulled out and a hole is poked into the middle. They are then left to sit out for several days. Finally, cleaning consists of fifteen minutes in water and sand.

Due to the storm, the power was knocked out and thus we had trouble viewing the final product inside the small show room initially. But as soon as power was restored, we cleaned that place out or at least gave our best effort towards doing so.

And about that good’s night sleep and air conditioning, it was not as to be expected. The Afrikiko Riverside Resort’s bed was a couch that unfolded to form a cushion. The sheets were dirty. The hot water took a while to get just right. Air conditioning was an utter mirage as the machine was not inclined to output cold air (and the quantity of dead flies in the output vent meant that it had not worked for some time). The pool looked inviting from a distance but upon closer inspection, needed to be cleaned thoroughly. The local frog population enjoyed the water all night though as indicated by their soon unwelcome calls.

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