Joshua Tandor uses a metal blade and a mallet to split a calabash (chrԑ in Nafaanra) in half. The pulp and seeds are removed and the calabash walls scraped clean before being set aside to dry. The resulting calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ) are sold at market while the seeds are a prized soup ingredient (fnumu). Farmstead on the outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.
Family members work together at farm to process calabash (gourd; chrԑ in Nafaanra) grown as both a cash crop and a source of household objects and its seeds as a soup ingredient. The men use large knives to split the calabash, after which they will remove its pulpy center and scrape its interior walls. Pictured here are (left to right) Maa Afia (girl), Ama Bosin (woman), O. K. Kwabena Krah, Nduo Wulo Kwadwo and Joshua Tandor. Farm on the outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.
Typical farm from the 1980s, showing intercropping of yams (finyjie in Nafaanra), cassava (dwa), calabash (chrԑ) or gourd and other crops. Banda, 1982.
Calabash (gourd) seeds (fnumu in Nafaanra) are a prized ingredient used to prepare a much-valued soup (fnumu chiin; calabash seed soup). The pulp is set aside to decay, making it easier to remove the seeds, which are then cleaned, dried, and cracked by hand to remove the seed coat. Here women on Nduo Wulo Kwadwo's farm outside Banda-Ahenkro prepare to carry seeds home for processing. Outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.
Nduo Wulo Kwadwo at farm, preparing calabash (gourd) bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra) for market. After removing the pulp and seeds, he scrapes the gourd's interior surface with a metal blade to clean and thin its walls before drying. Farm on the outskirts of Banda-Ahenkro, August, 1982.
View from the small hill west of Kabruno, looking southeast towards the hills near Boase. The villages of Kabruno and Gbao are visible in the foreground. Banda area, 23 July, 1982.
View to the southeast from the Banda hills above Ahenkro and Kabruno. The villages of Kabruno, Sase, Gbao, Samwa and Dompofie are visible beyond the first range of hills. The road leading south to Sabiye appears as a thin white line. In the background are the hills near Boase. Hills west of Ahenkro, 31 August, 1982.
View from the mountain ridge above Ahenkro, looking west toward Côte d'Ivoire across Bui National Park, a wildlife protected area since 1971. Hills west of Ahenkro, 31 August, 1982.
View from the small hill west of Kabruno, looking east-southeast. Left, the range of hills near Fawoman. Right, the northern end of the Obase hills. Rooftops in Dompofie and Gbao are visible in the foreground. Banda area, 23 July, 1982.
By 1994, work on the 4th Republic Road (as it was then known) extended the grated motorable road from Kanka to Nyire. View to the west on the approach to Kanka, Banda mountain range visible in the distance. July, 1994.
View looking northwest to the small hills (left) on western outskirts of Kabruno. Main range of Banda hills is visible in the background (right), with savanna woodland vegetation in the foreground. Hills west of Ahenkro, 31 August, 1982.
View looking southeast from the Banda hills above Ahenkro. The grid of Banda-Ahenkro's streets and rooftops is visible in the distance. In the background (right) are the eastern range of hills near Boase. The south end of the hills near Fawoman is visible, upper left. Hills west of Ahenkro, 31 August, 1982.
By 1994, work on the 4th Republic Road (as it was then known) extended the grated motorable road from Kanka to Nyire. Westward view mid-way between Nyire and Kanka, June, 1994.
View to the southeast from the Banda hills above Ahenkro. In the foreground is the first range of the Banda hills near Ahenkro. In the distance (center) is the range of hills near Boase. Hills west of Ahenkro, 31 August, 1982.
View toward Côte d'Ivoire from the mountain ridge above Ahenkro, looking west across Bui National Park, a wildlife protected area since 1971. Hills west of Ahenkro, 31 August, 1982.
View of the Banda hills from the Boase road, close to the base of the Boase range of hills, looking northwest. Visible (center) is the gap in the hills midway between Ahenkro and Bongase. To the right (north) is the notch in the mountain in an area known as Chuli. The hills to the far right are those associated with the Bui Dam site. Boase area, 11 October, 1982.
A typical side road leading to villages off the then-main road that connected Menji to Ahenkro in the Banda area. Tall grass lines the narrow track which was primarily used by lorries which transported agricultural products. December, 1982.