After a few days in Tamale, acclimatising to the heat,
planning our project, and attempting to grasp the fundamentals of the Buli
language, the “Sandem Mandem” (as we came to be known) once again hit the road
and completed the long drive into the wild, wild North and arrived at our new
home for the next quarter of a year: Sandema.
We have been here for just over a week now, and are
settling in nicely. Already, we have identified our favourite eating spots and made
friends with plenty of the local people, which has not exactly been hard, since
everybody is so incredibly welcoming and interested in our project. On Monday
we were formally received by the Paramount Chief and his Elders at the Palace,
which was a great honour and a great way to signify the “end of the beginning”
of our assimilation into the community.
Very quickly, we made the decision to prioritise our
efforts with regards to the New Era soap production business which, due to
recent cost inflation, is currently operating at a loss. Therefore, we have
immediately thrown our efforts into sourcing cheaper raw materials, securing
funding with which to reinvest and revive the business, and researching the
possibility of exporting the soap internationally in order to improve profit
margins and provide the employees with a more stable and secure livelihood.
However, it’s not all been hard work; we’ve also
managed to find time for a bit of fun. At the weekend we hosted the team from
Bolgatanga and had a lovely evening with them on Friday night at Konifah
Guesthouse before exploring Sandema market, having a bonfire, and treating them
to Liam’s fantastic culinary ability and Oliver Ashmore’s legendary hosting
skills on Saturday.
Oliver Buxton even proved himself to be quite the
socialite and, having met DJ Active of Radio Builsa, secured a spot on the
station where he was able to chat about his hopes and ambitions for the LIFE
project and play a few tunes. Early feedback suggests Shaggy’s Mr. Boombastic went down very well with
the local community, although Oliver’s requests to be known as “Mr. Lover
Lover” have met with a more luke-warm reception.
It’s been a great first week in Sandema for the
“Sandem Mandem”, and we’re already sad that we only have ten more to look
forward to.
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