Ever since my very first field trip to the Universal Biscuit factory in Blantyre (Malawi), I've always loved visiting factories. So when I got the chance to visit a bead making factory in Ghana, I was excited. It was certainly the quietest factory I've ever been in. And "in" being a relative term for standing under an open thatched-roof space, set in a pretty garden. The Cedi Bead factory employs a dozen people who make glass beads by hand. Bead making is a traditional pastime of the Krobo people in Ghana's eastern region (near the Volta river).
Ghanaians have been trading glass beads and using them in all their important ceremonies celebrating birth, life and death, for the past 400 years. The glass beads are in fact made from recycled glass. Glass bottles are ground down into a fine powder (or chunks depending on the bead type), and then put into clay molds. The glass is then fired in kiln made of termite mud. It's a fascinating process that has changed very little over the centuries. And it also offers you the perfect excuse to buy your maximum limit of Skyy vodka duty free before you head to Ghana. Blue glass is in high demand because it's not very common.
The Cedi Bead factory has recently built some basic accommodation for those crafty folks who want to create their own beaded masterpieces. I can't think of a better way to spend a few days in Ghana. Find out more from my latest feature about "Glass Beads in Ghana"...
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