Instructor(s): Steve Onyeiwu, Economics
Eric Pallant, Environmental Science
Description: An exploration of some of the social, political, environmental, and cultural factors associated with sustainability and economic development in Africa, using Ghana as a case study. We will travel to ecotourist destinations in game parks and jungles and contrast these with development projects in the Saharan northern part of the country. There will be special emphasis on women in development especially in rural areas of the country. Part of the experience will include visits to Christian and Muslim development agencies and to Cape Coast to visit the launching point for the western trade in enslaved humans. Ghana has been described by the World Bank and the IMF as an Africa “success story.” The study tour will investigate sustainability practices in Ghana, with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the challenges of economic development in the African continent.
Ghana Geography homepage
Everyday Assignment:
You must hand in S - Surprise or Shock about Ghana; Q - Question; O - Observation about Ghana or U.S.
| Day | Date | Location | Objective | Readings/Assignemnts | Lodging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | May 12 | Allegheny College - Steffee Hall B202, 8:30 AM |
Introduction to Ghana - From 8:30 to 11:30 AM, lectures by Onyeiwu and Pallant on Physical Geography, Safety and Security. From 1:00 - 3:45 Library and web research, 4:00 - 5:00 reconvene with preliminary results |
Choose two topics to
research. |
Brooks Hall |
| Tuesday | May 13 | Allegheny College - Steffee Hall B202, 8:30 AM |
Introduction to Ghana - From 8:30 to 11:30 AM, lectures by Onyeiwu and Pallant on Economics, Politics, and Environment
|
||
| Wednesday | May 14 | Travel to Accra, Ghana, | Bus departs for Pittsburgh airport at 1:00 PM | ||
| Thursday | May 15 | Accra | arrive 7:10 AM, Free time in Accra | Afia African Village | |
| Friday | May 16 |
Aburri Botanical Gardens, Woodworkers Collective, Travel to Cape Coast |
Visit woodworker's collective in Aburri Lunch at Aburri Botanical Gardens. Lectures physical and cultural geography of Ghana by faculty from University of Ghana. |
Hans
Cottage Botel  |
|
| Saturday | May 17 | Cape Coast |
In the morning, Women in Progress
to take lessons in fishing,
batik making, drumming, dancing, or cooking. After lunch Coast Castle
where we will visit the collecting post for enslaved Africans before they
were shipped to the New World.
|
Assignment: One page essay on what you learned in your seminar with Women in Progress. | Hans Cottage Botel |
| Sunday | May 18 | Kakum National Park |
Morning walk in canopy at Kakum National park to look at remnants of lowland rainforest and impact of colonial highgrading of best and largest trees. Travel to Kintampo. Search for Palm oil factory.
|
Read: UNESCO World Heritage Site Application Assignment: One page essay on what you learned in Kakum National Park.. . |
Lodging in Kintampo.
|
| Monday | May 19 | Travel to Kintampo (6 hours) |
Kintampo is a small city in north central Ghana. Several Peace Corps
projects are underway here, including development of Kintampo Falls. This
is the first of several tourism sites we will visit to determine how ecotourism
is helping, or hurting, local economies. Evening with villagers near Kintampo. |
Reading: Ecotourism and Management of Ecotourist projects | Lodge in Kintampo |
| Tuesday | May 20 | Economic activities in Kintampo region: farming, charcoal, processing. | Host is Jeremy Davis, Peace Corps volunteer. Meet villagers. | Assignment: One page essay on economic activity in Kintampo region. |
Deaprt for Mole at 2 PM. Lodge in Mole National Park |
| Wednesday | May 21 | Mole National Park, Larabanga Village | We will take a walking safari at dawn in Mole National Park, a large wildlife game reserve. We should see four species of antelopes, warthogs, up to three species of monkeys, and elephants. Compare impact of tourism on local population. Just outside Mole National Park is the village of Larabanga. Reputed to be home to the oldest Mosque in West Africa, Larabanga should be thriving. It has a major tourist attraction and is adjacent to one of the more heavily visited locations in the country, but to our eyes, Larabanga is not doing well. Is ecotourism a bad thing for Larabanga? We will visit the ancient Mosque and the village and then nearby villages to see whether tourism and foreign aid are helping or hurting Ghanaians. |
Reading: Negative impact of ecotourism and
impact of NGOs. |
Lodge in Mole  |
| Thursday | May 22 | Charcoal Village, Leather Workers in Tamale | Leave Mole for Tamale is a major northern city. Even though it is dryer and hotter than the south, Muslim sensibilities mean people cover up: no shorts, no bare shoulders. On the way to Tamale we will speak with villagers who are gathering charcoal from the bush to transport to the cities. In Tamale we will visit an outdoor processing plant that turns goatskins into leather. |  |
Lodge in Tamale, Catholic Guest House. Meals at SWAD Fast Food. |
| Friday | May 23 | Tamale Market, Travel to Sirigu | Here's a chance to go to banks to get more money if necessary and to recharge cell phone minutes. We will walk through a large African market place and then travel to the very north of the country, near the border with Burkina Faso. Travel to Bolgatanga. | Some stay in SWOPA guesthouses. Others in Bolgatanga. |
|
| Saturday | May 24 | SWOPA | The village of Sirigu is home to SWOPA, the Sirigu Women's Organization of Pottery and Art. We will have the opportunity to learn to make baskets, pottery, and paintings. We will tour area homes and again ask if tourism is a benefit or harm to local culture. |  |
Stay in SWOPA guesthouses, others in Bolga. |
| Sunday | May 25 | SWOPA, Paga Crocodile Ponds, Slave holding grounds, Burkina ? | Near Sirigu are the Paga Crocodile ponds where people pay to sit on crocs and pay again to throw them live chickens to devour. Nearby is Paga Pia's palace, a classical example of a century old, fortress like, curvaceous, mud-enclosed housing complex. If convenient we may travel into Burkina Faso to see how people live in this neighboring, French-speaking country. | Stay in SWOPA guesthouses, others in Bolga. | |
| Monday | May 26 | Travel to Kumasi | A long drive to Ghana's second largest city, an overcrowded, rapidly growing metropolis. | Visit to the magazine, an outdoor bazaar of every imaginable car part, steering wheels and break pads to truck beds, clutch wires, and mirrors. | Kumasi |
| Tuesday | May 27 | Adinkra Cloth makers, Kumasi |
On Monday morning, before departing, we will visit the makers of Adinkra cloth, the colorful tie-dyed material used for ceremonial occassions. Arrive someplace interesting between Kumasi and Accra ASK KUFOGBE. |
|
Someplace interesting between Kumasi and Accra |
| Wednesday | May 28 |
Do something interesting between Kumasi and Accra. Arrive to Cisneros. ASK KUFOGBE. |
Someplace interesting between Kumasi and Accra or drive all the way to Villa Cisneros | ||
| Thursday | May 29 |
Mat weavers and Ada beach. Beach Day. |
 |
Villa Cisneros | |
| Friday | May 30 | Lower Volta | Life has changed dramatically in the former floodplain of the Volta River now that the Akosombo Dam has created the largest human-made lake in the world. Without regular floods, fishing and farming have declined below the dam. We will visit the Tongu fruit packing plant that sends fresh fruits to Belgium and a large plantation of Jatropha shrubs grown by a private Norwegian company to manufacture biodiesel for the European Union. |
Reading: Look over the website prepared by the private Norwegian company growing Jatropha seeds to manufacture biodiesel. Also look at the Indian. Centre for Jatropha Biodiesel Promotion |
|
| Saturday | May 31 | Lome, Togo | We are only an hour away from the border with Togo and we will take the opportunity to visit Aflao, Togo, a northern extension of Togo's capital city, Lome. We will look at how people and products move across the border and ascertain what we can about the cultural differences between Francophone Togo and Ghana. Take tro-tros to Lome. | Examine economic activity | Villa Cisneros |
| Sunday | June 1 | Accra | Built in the early 1960s by Italian engineers, the Akosombo Dam provides 70% of Ghana's electricity as well as electricity for Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso. After touring the dam we will take a five-hour cruise on Lake Volta. |
Reading: History of the Akosombo Dam. |
Return to Accra and Riviera Beach House. |
| Woodcrafts | Textiles | Music |
| Alcohol and Culture | Education System | Soils |
| Termites | Birds | Microcredit |
| International Market of Indigenous Goods | Electricity Use | Transportation |
| Population growth | Relation to IMF, World Bank | Sprawl |
| Food | Children | Deforestation |
| Entrepreneurship | Effects of Cololianlism - legacy | Slave Trade |
| Ecological Footprint | Crime and Violence | War and Refugees |
| Women and Work | Women's Rights to Land | Gender roles in household |
| Migration into and out of Ghana | Street Vendors | Informal Economic Sector |
| Village Life | Erosion | Deforestation |
| Logging | Foreign Aid | Solid Waste (impact of nonbiodegradable packaging) |
| Ceramics | National Parks | Impact of Globalization |
| Christianity | Islam | Soccer |
| Traditional vs. Western Clothing | Volta Dam | Land Use Volta Watershed |
| Post-dam Economic Activity | Ghana History | Ghana Political Parties |
| Impact of NGOs | Impact of Religion/Missionaries | Gold Mining |
| Large Scale Timber harvesting | Charcoal | Wildlife Management |
Evaluation:
Pre-departure exam on physical, cultural, and historical geography of Ghana 15%
Pre-departure research paper on two topics 15%
On-site oral presentation of researched travel destination 15%
Journal Entries 15%
Final Project based on journal entries 40%
Students will be expected to attend classes at the University of Ghana, where we have developed a relationship with the faculty there. On completion of the tour, each student will write a 10-15 page research paper on selected aspects of the Ghanaian economy and society. Evaluation will be based on whether the students are able to identify some of the key issues and challenges in sustainable development in Ghana. Students will be challenged to propose strategies for enhancing Ghana’s sustainable development.
Dates and locations subject to change.
