Visit Ghana, Enjoy Ghanaian Food; A Call For Boosting Food Tourism To Eliminate Plastic Waste.

Ghana is a beautifully diverse country with so many potential for a better economic growth. As a Ghanaian, going home after 6 years of migration in Finland was a much anticipated one for the whole family, especially my two young children. Amid mixed feelings of how Ghana has changed and developed, my family and I were excited or better say over the moon with thoughts of eating everything Ghanaian during our stay.

Ampesi; boiled plantain or cocoyam served with palava sauce

During our stay, we could not do much sight seeing with three children towing behind us always but that never stopped us from eating out, never lol. The children for some weird and fortunate reasons just loved to eat out. They loved the ambiance of sitting outside some sheltered area with music playing or sitting by the ocean and watching the big waves come in. My Finnish husband will happily sip away his favorite chilled Ghanaian club beer and not be bothered with the heat for a while ;). I must confess here that, it was the delicious meals that kept us going in the heat and heavily trafficked city of Accra. We always had to assure ourselves of some good food in a local chop bar to endure the hustling and buzzing schedules in the capital. 

My daughter enjoying her fufuo with goat meat soup 

Ghana has ten regions and in every region one will discover over hundreds of different ethnic cuisines. Every region in Ghana can boast of its local delicacy; example, the Greater Accra Region (also the capital of Ghana) boasts of the Ga kenkey; fermented corn dough wrapped in corn husks, then steamed or boiled and commonly eaten with chili sauces and fried fish. The Ashanti Region boasts of fufuo; a starchy mashed cassava and plantain mixture eaten with rich Ghanaian tomato base soups. Fufuo which happens to my daughter`s favorite played an important role during our stay as she would always opt for fufuo always.

Wasawasa food; made from dried and floured yam skins served with chili powder and grilled chicken 

My two sons loves their Ghana jollof and will always opt for their usual or occasionally rice & stew. Hubby and myself will always go for the meal of the day which varied from banku & tilapia, ampesi&stew, fufuo/soup, fried yams/fried chicken, omotuo/peanut soup and once we got lucky with some redred. To honestly say, it was not all rosy during our stay. I was once again faced with the poor sanitation situations, as did my husband too (he lived for years in Kumasi so he knows the situation). We just wished the situation could be more addressed and the state to hopefully ban plastics entirely. Its was and is bad for the future of our dear Ghana. I also realized the zero utterance for recycling in Ghana. Nothing. For an agricultural economy like ours in Ghana, I sincerely hope these practices of everything plastic will ditched completely. Hot foods put in plastic is a no no. Going to the market to buy food stuffs and stacking them in plastics should be replaced with baskets for mini shopping and reusable raffia bags like #Ghanamustgobags are more ecological.

Wasawasa food is a northern Ghana ethnic delicacy

Food is a basic necessity in every part of the world. In Ghana people live on buying street foods. And if every purchase of foods are served in reusable food containers or our dear waakye/banana leaves instead of unhealthy cheap plastics, believe this; our oceans will have less and hopefully no plastics in them. Not to mention money saving means for the street food vendors who would always say big thank you to us when we bought food from them and refused their plastics. Our local asanka or ayowa should be encouraged as an everyday eating bowl not just for special omotuo or fufuo on Sundays. Not only should they be used in chop bars but as a daily utensil in every restaurant. Imagine the economic empowerment this initiative will give the small scale asanka manufactures. The youths learning ceramics/pottery in schools would graduate with a market ready for them to explore. Asanka bowls, asanka plates, asanka trays, name a few; these are potential success for our Ghanaian economy. Take a look at the history Chinese ceramics and its continuous developments.

Ghanaian Asanka / Ayowa 

Ghana is blessed with so many natural resources and we should explore them and bring out their greatest potential instead of looking out and importing cheap plastics that ends up destroying our environment, and eventually our nation as a whole. Lets think of the wooden plates, bamboo plates, ceramics, glass, clay, these are healthily recycled and our beautiful nature will be preserved. Our children will grow up appreciating nature. Or even maybe, just maybe, after cocoa and gold, Ghanaian pottery and ceramics can make it international. It is possible. Let me borrow from Barack Obama; YES WE CAN. (smiling to myself actually).

Ghanaian made clay ceramic bowl used to serve meko; Ghanaian fresh pepper sauce

I am aware this will take awhile or maybe a long time for these changes to happen. But I do hope, if you are reading this as a Ghanaian, or living in Ghana, you will also start to help in your own small ways. Carry your own food container when you go to buy food. Start using reusable bags when you visit the market. It takes time and effort but believe this, it starts with you. I have an initiative for making cloth bags for those young polythene bags sellers to start selling and can not wait to share this with Ghana. It starts with us. So lets start appreciating made in Ghana asanka bowls and mugs for eating/drinking, rafia basket for shopping and the future will be safe for our children.

A display of  made in Ghana wooden salad spoons and ceramic clay bowls

I personally also hope to use food as means of improving my Ghanaian tourism because I firmly believe food binds people together. And if we can get people to enjoy our foods whilst visiting, they will have more stories to share than just sight seeing. Every ethnic food in Ghana has a story behind it and it is way to let tourists know our stories. Our local chop bars and restaurants has improved so much better that, one does not have to be afraid when eating out. As home cook myself with a hygiene passport from the Finnish Food Safety Board, I must confess, the places we choose to eat had their hygiene under control and they had us impressed. Only a few places had slight issues but I am sure they will improve with time and proper education from our Ghana Food Safety Board. So be bold to eat out in Ghana, go to the locals, its cheaper, tastier and you get to feel Ghana. AND DO NOT FORGET TO TELL THE  FOOD VENDORS TO GO EASY ON EVERYTHING CHILI OR PEPPER. BEST TIP, ALWAYS CARRY A BOTTLE OF KETCHUP JUST IN CASE. Food is a way of life. So imagine in Ghana, where street foods helps save the environment from plastics. It is possible. Let me borrow again, YES WE CAN.

Hope you had a good read and let me know your thoughts on them also. Below are some of the foods we enjoyed in Ghana, take a look and be sure to try them when you #visitGhana and #EnjoyGhanaianFood 

Home made Ghanaian fresh pepper sauce(meko) with black chili sauce (shitor), with fried fish. The keney is missing in photo ;)

Fried yam, fried fish, meko am´nd shitor

The ultimate banku and tilapia with meko and shito

Grilled tilapia with fried yam

 A gluten free snack on the go, and of course came in a plastic the plastic

Served fufuo with fish soup in an asanka.

We met the mango season in Ghana so yes, it was organic mangoes as dessert 

Typical Ghanaian fried eggs with toasted bread; Ghana style