A is for Aba House

Betty Ellert stayed at Aba House with some friends a few years ago.
And now she has written a childrens book titled ABC'S FROM GHANA,WITH LOVE
It was published by www.dementimilestonepublishing.com

We are A and O....WOW!

Artful Animals

The Museum of African Art in Washington, DC has a wonderful online exhibit called Artful Animals.
http://africa.si.edu

When we were in Burikina Faso , one of our guides was very excited to show us the sacred mudfish, but he wasn't really able to explain their significance, After seeing the the exhibit I know why they are so important. Even important enought to be on the money in Burkina Faso.

A great tool for teaching about African culture, the exhibit is also fascinating reading for adults.
Make sure you take the time to look at all of the animals.

some Ghanaian cultural snipits

at http://www.diasporicafrica.blogspot.com there are some interesting cultural stories.
Under the Akan there's a paper about dream interpretations where most of what you dream (according to the Akan) means just the opposite.
For example, if you dream that you will find gold, it means that you will always be poor.

There is another paper about a young girls induction into a shrine. If you're curious about African ceremonies, this will interest you.

Written by an African scholar, the blog also offers books for sale, but just browsing through the
stories is free.

Kenya

We are working with our friend Pius Yugi to introduce travelers to beautiful Kenya.

Kenya offers The Great Rift Valley - white rinos - tea plantations - ancient rock art - Lake Victoria - the village where President Obama's father was born -the famous Maasi and so much more.

Let us know if you're interested and we'll organize a tour especially for you.

Kuwa na siku njeme
Have a nice day

We did the Ouagadougou

Since our last blog way back in Jan., we have been traveling.

In early Feb. we had an agreeable group of tourists and we went through northern Ghana and into Burkina Faso.

Pictured are painted houses from Tiebele, a village right over the Ghana border in Burkina Faso. Otherwise, a typical African village, Tiebele is an artists dream. The mud houses are painted by the village women who, rightly so, take great pride in their work.

If you'd like to see more photos of the houses, we posted some on Cross Cultural Collaborative Flickr page.

Our final destination was the capital of Burkina, Ouagadougou. There's something about the way it sounds that just makes you want to go there. It reminded me a little of a wild west movie, but it also has a wonderful museum and is the home of a famous film festival. Guess you can say that it has something to appeal to everyone.

We did meet a few camels strolling down the street, but there are mostly bicycles and motorbikes and very few cars.

If Timbuktu sounds appealing, consider joining our next tour in Jan. 2011.

Shoveling snow in Boston and packing for Ghana.

What a contrast.

From Ghana we go to Burkina Faso.

Read all about it when we get back.

We have been updating the VOICES page at http://www.culturalcollaborative.org

It's still missing alot of Aba House alumni, but if you'd like to see who's been to Aba House, the VOICES page is the place to look.

And if you'd like to be an Aba House alumni, let us know.

Our next programs will take place in July and August. Check the WORKSHOP page at http://www.culturalcollaborative.org. If you don't see what you want, contact us. We can put together a program for you.

aba@culturalcollaborative.org

work with traditional African potters

We are very excited about this workshop.
We will be bringing some potter/housepainters from northern Ghana to Aba House (southern Ghana) to paint a wall in their uniquely decorative style.

Workshop participants will have the opportunity to work with the woman .

The workshop will also include visits to Vume, a pottery village made famous by Michael Cardew, and visits to contemporary pottery workshop.

contact aba@culturalcollaborative.org for an application.