Yesterday Madeline and I joined our old friend Musah for a trip to Odumase-Krobo, which is the bead village north of Tema. We started with a tour of Cedi's glass bead factory, given by Cedi's brother, where they create a variety of different beads using recycled glass, glass powder, recycled glass beads and ceramic-glazed beads. The tour was extremely informative and we walked around from pavilion to pavilion watching the bead production in action. The kilns used to fire the glass are made from gound termite mounds and are fired up to 2000 degrees. The molds are ceramic, and the beadmakers take the molten glass and move it in the molds, freeing it up and making the hole at the same time. Each pavilion houses a different aspect of the production, and folks work collectively to produce the beads.
In addition to the factory, there is also a store, and I got to see some of the beautiful work that Cedi and his family produce. I was tempted by the beautiful chevron glass beads that Cedi makes, but could not afford them at 20/30 cedi a bead. Afterward, we went to the bead market, and were instantly overwhelmed, but of course that did not stop us from getting a few. Some of the older beads for sale at the market are really amazing, and definitely worth the trip.
Today we have come to the fancy hotel down the road in search of a pool and the internet. We have found both.
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