A group of men work together, gathered at farm, processing calabash (gourd; chrԑ in Nafaanra) for market sale. The calabash is split, its pulpy interior removed, and the gourd's interior surface scraped clean before drying. Shavings from this thinning process are scattered about on the ground. Several children are gathered nearby as the men work. A basket sits next to a pile of prepared calabash bowls (chrԑgbͻͻ in Nafaanra). Farm near Ahenkro, August, 1982.
View towards the east from the Banda hills north of Ahenkro. In the foreground (right) are farm fields that have been clearcut and plowed for tobacco farming.The houses of Ahenkro are visible beyond the farm fields. The mountain ranges in the distance are those near Fawoman (left) and Boase (right). Banda hills, 30 July, 1994.
The Banda hills viewed from the small hill west of Kabruno, looking northward. Center photo are tobacco fields that have been clear-cut and tractor-plowed. Tobacco began to be grown as a cash crop in the area during the mid 1980s. Banda hills, May, 1995
Tobacco began to be grown as a cash crop in the Banda area in the early 1980s. Here young people tie leaves to the branches from which the tobacco will be suspended while hanging in the drying barn. Visible in the background are two drying barns built of cement block and roofed with iron sheets. Tobacco companies advanced farmers the materials to build these barns against the farmer's crop. Between the drying barns is a stack of wood brought in by tractor to fuel fires in the barns. In the background of one photo, men carry headpans filled with tobacco which they have brought from farm. Two photos. South side of Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Drying barns; Children's work; Wood piles; Headpans; Men's work
Subjects Facet:
Lifting and carrying; Firewood; Tobacco; Metal roofing; Agriculture; Building; Cash crops
A tractor-plowed field close to the Banda hills on the outskirts of Ahenkro has been planted with tobacco. Tobacco farming began in the Banda area in the 1980s and was common by the 1990s as many farmers took up commercial tobacco production. After tobacco farming was banned by the Traditional Council, some open fields like these were planted in cashew, the cash crop in which many Banda farmers invested from the early 2000s. Others have been used for mono-cropping (fields used for a single crop type) cash crops that are annuals. Northwest of Ahenkro, May, 1995.
A field planted with tobacco near the Banda hills northwest of Ahenkro. Banda area farmers began to go into commercial tobacco farming in the 1980s. In preparation to grow tobacco, fields were clear cut and plowed by tractor. Tobacco seedlings were transplanted into the mono-cropped fields. Farmers used commercial fertilizers supplied by tobacco buyers who advanced money on cured leaves. These large cleared fields rapidly lost soil fertility. After tobacco farming was banned by the Traditional Council in the early 2000s, these open fields were often planted with other cash crops, like cashew. Northwest of Ahenkro, 1994.
A woman carries harvested tobacco leaves from farm to the area where the leaves will be tied for drying. Behind her, a ladder rests against the wall of a cement block metal-roofed tobacco drying barn. Tobacco was grown as a cash crop in the Banda area from the early 1980s into the early 2000s. Farmers received materials like bags of cement and roofing sheets to build drying barns as advances on their crop. South side of Ahenkro, July-August, 1986.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Headloading; Drying barns; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Building; Tobacco; Metal roofing; Cash crops; Lifting and carrying
By 1994, many Banda farmers had gone into tobacco farming. Money was advanced to farmers by tobacco companies to purchase the cement and iron sheets needed to build drying barns. The buyers also advanced commercial fertilizer needed to grow the cash crop. A tractor supplied by the company was used to prepare fields for the seedlings and to transport firewood from surrounding areas to the barns. Large amounts of wood were used to stoke fires in the drying barns. South side of Ahenkro, June-July, 1994.
Tobacco was grown as a cash crop in the Banda area during the 1980s and 1990s. Pictured here are wood piles and tobacco barns on the south side of Ahenkro. The wood was collected and brought to town using a tractor. The high demand for wood by tobacco farmers to fuel the drying barns created tensions with women who relied on wood collected from farms to fuel their cooking fires. Ahenkro, June-July, 1990.
Drying barns on the south side of Banda-Ahenkro used to dry and cure tobacco. Wood used to fuel the fires in the barns is stacked in piles between the barns and was brought in from surrounding farmland by tractor. The high demand for wood by tobacco farmers created tensions with women who relied on wood collected from farms to fuel their cooking fires. Ahenkro, June-July, 1990.