Bolgatanga

Bolgatanga is in Northern Ghana very close to the border with Burkina Faso.
The beautiful melon shaped baskets seen all over are called Bolga baskets and ,you guessed it, are made in Bolgatanga.

We are selling a DVD of the baskets being made in a womans cooperative. The DVD also shows music and dance from Bolga. This is the area that is known for the unique designs painted on mud houses and the woman work surrounded by these inspiring motifs.

The cost of the DVD is $18.00 ( this includes shipping in the USA) and can be ordered from aba@culturalcollaborative.org
Proceeds from sales are given to the basketmakers.

You can read about the women at www.africancraft.com on the "craftsmen page". Look for Sherigu Atie-Taaba Woman's Association

Fundraising

Not always the most fun part of the job, it's necessary. We did have fun and great success at one of our fundraisers. Go to www.rainydaymagazine.com and find the archives for May 25.

On a Friday in June , the shop called Ten Thousand Villages in Brookline, MA made us their non-profit de jour and donated 15% of sales to us during a 4 hour period in the afternoon.

We have also had in kind donations of a camera, 2 computers, a printer and household items.
We might just get everything to Ghana because our volunteers are each taking a suitcase for us.

We've also had a solar cooker donated and will use it this summer to cook the sugarcane leaves for the bookmaking. Reports on that will be in our next newsletter.