Life in Sirigu and meeting with the men of the community

Team 3 have been in sunny Sirigu for just over two weeks now and feel very much part of the community. The people are very friendly and welcoming. Within the first few days we explored Sirigu seeing many different sites; including the orphanage, primary school and health care centre which we met many local people and they were all interesting to look around. We found the food a challenge but after trying many different foods over the past two weeks we are now enjoying a lot of the food, especially fried yam. Our host families are so nice and have made us very much a part of their family- teaching us how to hand wash and cook Ghanaian food especially for UKVs.

The life in Sirigu has made us more unique than we thought it could be. This is a community you will enjoy because you are made to feel at home with their hospitable way of life. The people are friendly and welcoming. The locally made food is also great and would like to have anytime. The best pottery and arts are seen here in Sirigu made with different kinds of styles by women of SWOPA.

SWOPA stands for Sirigu Women Organisation for Pottery and Art which was started by Madam Melanie in 1997 to empower the women of Sirigu. SWOPA is currently running a guest house, gallery, restaurant and a workshop where talented women make pottery, arts and weave baskets of different kinds. SWOPA is a great place for tourism. Where tourists come to see the amazing pottery and arts made by the women in SWOPA and also purchase some products. 

During the week we’ve been researching whether the men of Sirigu would be interested in learning leather work and if they would be willing to work through SWOPA following recommendations from the previous cohort. We came up with guide questions and ventured out to ask five different focus groups various questions on leather work and leather products.

Whilst doing this project, it was also a great chance for the SWOPA team to introduce ourselves to the Sirigu community because of the wide range of people we ask. It was also a great chance to interact with the community and give them a chance to express their views on leather work.

 
 
( A picture of the first focus group with the male teachers and some of the team members)


- By Laura and Benjamin