Informational posters on Banda history and archaeology are displayed on easels in the hall of the Banda Cultural Centre. Examples of pottery recovered from excavations at Banda area sites rest on shelves in the background. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 18 July, 2011.
Several young men gather outside of Kafͻnͻ (Kafono) Katoo under the shade of a small thatched shelter. They are looking at a binder of photos that includes pictures of their family house taken in 1986 when its roof was being re-thatched. At that time the house was decorated with a painting of a bicycle, reputed to be the first bicycle in Banda. Ahenkro, 1 September, 2018.
The town of Ahenkro as seen from the Banda hills, view to the southeast. The first of the town's cellular phone towers is visible on the south side of town. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. At the photo's bottom left, the angular edges of a tractor-plowed field are visible. Clear-cut fields like these were first established when Banda area farmers took up commercial tobacco farming during the 1980s and 1990s. Since tobacco farming was banned by the Banda Traditional Council in the early 2000s, these fields have been put to other types of cash cropping. Banda, June, 2009.
Banda-Ahenkro became the district headquarters for the newly established Banda District in 2012. This brought a number of new services to the area. Seen here is the Banda Branch of the Nafana Rural Bank, which opened on the main street of Ahenkro after the Banda District was established A satellite communications dish is placed nearby. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
The new Ahenkro market building was built on the site where a majestic kapok tree shading the outdoor marketplace formerly stood. The tree was downed in a severe storm in 1999/2000, after which the weekly market was moved to a nearby village. The new building houses commercial kiosks and storefronts for rent. View of the market's south and east sides. Two photos. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
View of Ahenkro main street, looking southwest, the Omanhene's (paramount chief) palace to the right. Advertising signs for a printing kiosk and for a mobile money supplier (MTN) appear along the roadside. Two cellular phone towers are visible behind the palace. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
A view looking northward on Ahenkro's main street. The paved road is bordered on either side by deep gutters. Electrical poles and wires run along one side of the street. A sign advertising MTN "Mobile Money" is placed roadside. Several motor vehicles are parked along the road. A bicycle is parked in the foreground. Ahenkro, June, 2016.
View of Omanhene's (paramount chief) palace on the main street of Banda-Ahenkro. Two cellular phone towers are visible behind the palace. A satellite dish appears to the right. Ahenkro, June 2016.
Photo of the exterior wall of the Kafͻnͻ Katoo compound in Ahenkro. The wall now occupied by a lace-curtained window was formerly a solid wall on which the image of a bicycle was painted, said to be the first bicycle in Banda and photographed in 1986. Other areas of the exterior wall were previously decorated with inscribed and painted geometric designs, the outlines of which can still be seen in the closeup image of the wall included here. The entire building is roofed with metal. A ewe and her lamb pass by in front of the house. Ahenkro, 1 September, 2018.
Banda Research Project team member Sampson Attah (left) presents a Banda chief (right) with copies of heritage documents at a community event celebrating Banda cultural heritage. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, 15 July, 2011.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement; Community event