Escaping Tamale

I took the weekend to get in touch with my creative side, skip out on expat parties, chat and boozing, and sleep under the stars. I caught a tro-tro (a minibus – in a condition that wouldn’t be up to Newcastle Car and Truck Rental standards!) to Bolgatanga, indulged in a delicious egg salad with salad cream, and a taxi to Sirigu.

Dinner is ready, and colourful!

Here is SWOPA – Sirigu Women’s Organisation of Pottery and Art. A brightly painted guest house and indulgence. After a 7 hour journey (for a distance of 185kms), I was exhausted, a night sleeping on the roof of the clay hut under the stars helped, ready for the art class the next morning. 

Sleeping under the stars

With descriptions of the interpretation and meaning of the different patterns, charcoal is used to sketch out a design.

Let the creativity flow...

Then you can use the traditional paint colours to paint your canvas (to match the décor), or add a modern twist with some additional ones.

And the creativity flows

After a 3 hour creativity-fest and many fun stories from Fatima, our teacher (many involving the role of women and why the women’s design is horizontal), it was time to jump on a local bus and head back to Bolga. This bus was playing some local music at full volume. It was traditional style, and chatting with the driver and mate, I got the name. Turns out he’s an unsigned artist, but I can chase down a copy of his cassette (does anyone have a means to play these nowdays?) in Bolga. Note to self. Follow up.

Sweet Ride

The scenery is so dry at the moment. I have said from the start, it is much like outback Australia in so many ways. Red dust and flat plains. Nothing seems to be growing at the moment, but I know come the wet season it will be transformed. The heat was amazing. This is one of the hottest parts of the country and I could feel it!

Dry farming land and few leaves. It's hot in the clay huts!

It was a great weekend, and feeling refreshed and stimulated, it only took 4 hours to return to Tamale. There, I was welcomed back home with a nation-wide power cut for the night. The forty degree heat is really stifling without any power, so when the fan came back on in the middle of the night I could faintly remember the refreshing experience of sleeping under the stars…

Arts and Crafts - Fatima mid-storytelling