Ghana's tropical rainforests – what does their future have to do with us?

Wooden candleholder with an Asante face carved for Oxfam Fair Trade by Samuel Aning, master carver. The upstretched hands represent freedom and the double face unity Photo: Sarah Errington/Oxfam

Task 4

Use the text and graphics items below to find out about Fair Trade.

Then, after discussions with your group or partner, describe how you could help people in a Third World country involved in a Fair Trade initiative. You can find out more about the Forest Stewardship Council Scheme and Fair Trade by using some of the linked Web sites.

What is Fair Trade?
(Source: Oxfam)

Fair Trade supports poor people who face disadvantages, but are working to overcome them through their own efforts.

Fair Trade is about giving poor people power: by paying producers a fair price for their work, and by strengthening their hand in trading relationships. Fair Trade means that many of the people who rely on selling crafts and textiles for a living; or who produce food items such as tea, coffee, chocolate and honey; now have the chance to work their way out of poverty.

Fair Trade gives Third World producers decent working conditions.

Fair Trade trades fairly with people to help them help themselves.

The Oxfam Fair Trade Programme and other Fair Trade organisations seek to support the efforts of poor people, especially women, to achieve sustainable livelihoods through accessing secure and reliable markets for their products.

Fair Trade can help to keep rural communities together by supporting poor farm workers with seasonal craft orders. Fair Trade can also help local people in their efforts to maintain their culture and control the marketing of their own traditional crafts.

Aid to Artisans
(Source: Oxfam)

Aid to Artisans (ATAG) is based in Ghana and is the support organisation for craft producers throughout the country. Aid to Artisans is the exporter for producer groups. It also ensures that the producers are paid a fair price for their work and, when appropriate, directs potential buyers to the most needy groups. ATAG has four shops which stock a wide range of quality handicrafts for tourists.


Case study of Fair Trade operating in Foase Village, Ghana
(Source: Oxfam)

Originally Foase wasn't a carving village but about ten years ago a man called Agya Opoku came to settle here and began teaching a few of the young men how to carve. Originally Foase was a farming village. When Agya Opoku first started work here it wasn't easy for him; he could hardly find any apprentices because nobody believed that carving could be a lucrative business - they thought it would mean living from hand to mouth. But then a few adventurous ones came forward just to try it. Mr Aning was one of the early apprentices.

So since that time it has become one of the best known carving villages in Ghana and here the speciality is the traditional Akwaaba doll. These dolls were originally made as traditional pieces for barren women, women who wanted to get babies.

But these days the dolls are just for children to play with. Every carving village has a speciality; it may be masks, or stools, or drums, but here it is Akwaaba dolls. Aid to Artisans has been able to influence what they make, and to introduce some new ideas.

We get consultants to come in and we have able to turn the traditional items into functional ones, so now we have Akwaaba dolls which are candle-holders, and Akwaaba doll faces made into napkin rings. So now being a carver is not a hand to mouth existence at all, it is now quite profitable. Almost every able-bodied young man in the village is a carver.

The whole craft situation in Ghana is very interesting because in almost every craft village children from a very young age learn the craft naturally, unconsciously because their parents, brothers and uncles are all involved, so by the time they are six years old a boy is able to take a full part in the process. Almost every child in school is involved in the particular craft of their village. Only boys are involved in the actual carving, but when Aid to Artisans began to work with the people of Foase we impressed upon them women could be involved in some part of the process, such as sanding, painting and polishing. So now, in Foase, we have many women involved in these jobs. Aid to Artisans has been introducing buyers to the carvers, and we have exhibited their work in various places.

The wood they use is mainly Sese which is a soft white wood, and they also used to use Nyame Dua ('The Tree of God') which is very soft indeed but is now becoming extinct so is not used so much any more. But Sese can be cultivated and renewed so it's always available. The other wood that is very common here in Foase is the Cedera. Cedera is a red wood that smells like an onion so locally it's known as Gyen-gyen, or 'onion wood'. But even though Sese is quite plentiful they are having to go further and further afield to find wood so Aid to Artisans is planning to work with the community to introduce a re-forestation scheme.

In Foase village there are workshops in every corner. They carve under the trees, on their veranda's at home, in sheds and open compounds. Altogether there are more than 60 workshops in Foase.

The carving has had a very, very big impact on the life of the village. In the first place the young men stay in Foase, they don't have to travel out to Accra or Kumasi to find work because they are fully employed where they live. And again, it has also given jobs to quite a number of women who do business with the carvers, or who are involved in the sanding, painting and polishing. For example, a number of women have gone into preparing food to sell to the carvers, and they get a lot of work. Again, it makes the village very lively; very few people here are idle so Foase is really a growing village now. When you enter the living rooms of these young men they have all the modern amenities that make life interesting: TVs, tape recorders, good chairs to sit on, and rugs on the floor, even fridges - all the modern items that make life a bit worthwhile, they are able to afford them.

Samuel Aning, 27 years, master carver and workshop owner talking about his work in Foase Village, Ghana and Cecelia, 24, wife of Samuel talking about the women's carving work.
(Source: Oxfam)

Samuel Aning, 27 years, master carver and workshop owner in Foase Village, Ghana. He is carving a wooden candleholder for Oxfam Fair Trade Photo: Sarah Errington/Oxfam

"I started carving nearly ten years ago. My master was called Billy and when I finished learning from him I decided to work on my own so I started work and earned some money to develop my business. Then I started doing my own designs and getting more orders, so then I got some other carvers to come and work with me.

"I wasn't born here in Foase but I came here to learn. My family was very poor so they couldn't help me to continue my education so I decided to learn carving - it was a very good decision. I discovered that I was a very creative person and now I have the means to make a good living. In fact is has helped my whole family because I have been able to pay for my senior brother to complete senior secondary school, and he will continue his education with my help. I don't need to go to the university myself now because I already have a very good job. I do want to learn though, and if I ever get time to study I would like to learn to speak English correctly, but already my senior brother is helping me with my English.

"In the future I really want to help those who don't have a job. Right now I'm training four boys here and I have already trained 15 boys, boys who are now working and earning good money. I also want to build a very big workshop where I can have all my workers under one roof. Right now I'm having a few problems raising the money so I want to get a very big order so I can get enough money to build my new workshop.

"Ghana is a good place to live, a very good place. If you have a job there's no need to go to any other country. But if you don't work here it's very difficult to live: how can you get food to eat, or a place to sleep if you don't have work. But if you have a job, there's no need to go anywhere else."

Cecelia Aning, 24, wife of Samuel: "My husband was a carver when I married him. He provides a good living through his carving. I was born in Kumasi but moved here to Foase six years ago, when I got married. At first the women in the village were very hesitant to take part in the carving work, but when they realized they could earn a living out of it, they became involved and now play a full part in the work. Before that many of them weren't leading decent lives at all because they had nothing to do and no money, but this carving work has helped them to lead decent lives now. When the women had no work they were just following men. When they were not working they still had to eat, so they just used to hang around and if a man whispered to them they would follow him. But now that the men find the women in employment, and earning their money, so the women have their respect. Now the men don't even approach them because they know the women don't need their money any more."



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