Controlled fires burn in the hills behind Banda-Ahenkro, part of the Bui National Park. The remains of a small grass fire are visible in the foreground. The thatched stalls of the weekly marketplace are visible beneath the majestic kapok tree that once stood at the south edge of town. To the left, near the smaller tree, is the reddish iron roof of the first town clinic, home to a nurse stationed by the goverment in town. Ahenkro experienced several major fires in the 20th century, prompting people to opt for metal roofs when they could afford them. Ahenkro, December, 1982
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.
Ahenkro (left) and Kabruno/Kanka (right) as seen from the Banda hills, view to the southeast. Two of the early (red-and-white) cellular phone towers in the area are visible. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. Banda, June, 2009.
Ahenkro (left) and Kabruno/Kanka (right) as seen from the Banda hills, view to the southeast. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. Banda, June, 2009.
The clustered villages of Kabruno, Kanka, Sase and Gbao are visible from the hills west of Ahenkro, as is the road leading south to Sabiye. The eastern range of Banda hills is visible in the distance. Banda, June, 2009.
A new road (the "4th Republic Road") connecting Kanka directly to Ahenkro and bypassing Kabruno was built in about 1993. The newly grated road is seen here from the north side of Kanka, looking northward toward Ahenkro, visible in the distance. June, 1994.
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.
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.
