Somewhere in Nyaniba Estates, close to the now defunct Christiansborg Hotel, hides a burger restaurant for people of hearty hearts and big appetites. Popularly known for serving expansive burgers, Burger & Relish have been in Ghana for awhile and they look set on staying awhile for the long haul. 

 My partner and I went to the burger restaurant to celebrate our two years of dating and I really wanted to try out something less formal yet with a delectable memorable taste.

The interior of any restaurant matters a lot to me; one glance at the inside of any restaurant can tell me what kind of food to expect. The eclecticism of the décor as I walked in promised me long conversations over some great burgers. This was going to be exciting!

It’s a great place for lunch during the week as it’s less busy with food arriving between 15-20 minutes after ordering.

A waitress appeared after two minutes of finding a window seat. She was curt in her enquiry on what we would be having. Her attitude was just one degree from frigid and she seemed to have little patience for us as we browsed through the American-styled menu. It really doesn’t hurt to smile.

Alternative pop music flowed generously as we idly chatted about upcoming plans and our journey so far. The music didn’t drown out our conversation thankfully. That's actually something some local restaurants need to learn to adapt; low music for rich conversations.

Our drinks came in ice-chilled glasses. My choice for a non-alcoholic apple & mint sizzle was a rather poor one. My brain registered it as drinking liquid toothpaste. Almost like a mild mouthwash. A definite poor choice.

Restaurants in Accra, offering burgers on their menus usually lack what it takes to make a sizzling great burger. I have eaten burgers which tastes… sorry which has no taste. Poor spicing of the beef or chicken patty and the bun is never fresh either. Ratchet burgers. 

My Smoking' Jo Burger came first. I could definitely manage the size, I thought to myself. Then Kofi's own came next. What a shocker! The Boss burger is a sight to be behold, take my word for it.

See?

What do you think? Scary or exciting? Does it make you want to conquer it?

I would go with scary. I wouldnt know where to start from.

My Smokin' Jo was smoking hot!

The beef patty was well done and was not too spicy. It was delectable & in great harmony with the crispy bacon and bbq mayo. I couldn't help stealing pickles from Kofi's burger for an extra bite. Yum! 

Quite interestingly, new restaurants are adopting the rustic, vintage look for their indoor decor. Other's are also going for the dead wood pieces look. Burger & Relish is also in that rustic quirky clan. I love that feel of rustic movement around me.

Too often I see couples have a meal at a restaurant, chat a while before, during and after and then leave the restaurant. Nothing keeps them in for a total experience. It's always eat and go. We were about to ask for the bill when we decided to ask if the Scrabble board was available for play. The board game was nestled amongst Monopoly and other games on a built-in shelf from across the room. 

We got down to unpacking it immediately. Scrabble is one of our favourite board games which we have been playing digitally on our iPads. This was going to be the first real board game.

Game on! 

We ordered a side of chicken wings for the game. Do you see the strategy behind having a board game for customers? You get to stay longer and order some more food. :) 

In the end, I won! Do you think you can predict a person by the type of words they choose to play on a scrabble board? Hmmmm... *chin stroke*. 

Price wise, I would say it's bougee burgers from 37-60GHS with a meal for two going past GHC 100. Go prepared. 

Parking at Burger & Relish in Osu is quite hellish. Insufficient parking causes customers to park on the narrow roadside causing hold-ups during busy eating-out nights. 

On the whole, its a great hangout for small and large groups of friends and families and worth more than just one visit.

Guest Food Blogger Profile

My Name is Katheryn Kangas (maiden name was Owusu-Ansah), a ghanaian mother of three currently living in Finland. I love cooking and eating good food is my hidden hobby. My Journey in the food world started when I migrated to Finland and was introduced to the different food cultures. Now I really enjoy experimenting with new cuisines and infusing them with my Ghanaian recipes.

Instagram @katslifestyle01

This dish is a vivid memory of the first time I had couscous back in Ghana with some Ivorian friends. I did my best to cook this meal exactly the way my Ivorian friends did and I am very happy it worked and tasted almost the same. Hope everyone who tries this enjoys it as much as I did.

Here's the Recipe : 

Ingredients: 
Couscous
1 cup Couscous
2 cups hot water
1/2 lemon slice
Salt
1 tblspn olive oil

Ivorian Salad: 
1-2 Tomatoes
1 small size Red onion
1/2 size of Cucumber
Lemon juice
Orange juice

Grilled Tilapia: 
1 Fresh Tilapia
1-2 inch size fresh ginger  
1 small size onion
2-3 garlics
1 shrimp stock cube
3-5 green chili

Spicy Tomato sauce: 
3-5 Fresh tomatoes
2 small size onions
1-2 Garlic gloves
1-2 tspn chili powder
1 shrimp stock cube
Oil

Preparations :

For the Tilapia:

Clean and score(make cut lines on fish both sides) fish. Blend or grind all ingredients together and marinate rub into fish making sure to fill the scores also. Leave in fridge for 1-2 hours till ready to grill. 

Tomato sauce:

Blend tomatoes, 1 onion and garlic together. Heat oil, add in 1 sliced onion and chili powder.  Allow to simmer for a minute or two, then add blended mixture. Boil for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally. Lastly add in shrimp stock cube, check for extra salt and leave to simmer 10 minutes. 

Salad:

Remove seeds from tomatoes and slice into small half moon sizes. Slice onion, cucumber and add with tomatoes in a small bowl. Squeeze lemon and orange over them, tossed together and put in fridge to serve later. 

Couscous:

Put 1 cup of couscous in a bowl add two cups of hot water, salt, olive oil and lemons slices. Stir together and cover tight for 15-20 minutes.

Last step is to enjoy this meal and savour all the freshness and infusion of flavours from each meal 😍😘

Do you suffer from FOMO ( Fear Of Missing Out) ? You know how you log in to Facebook only to all these cool photos and videos of people at events which you would have loved to be at but never heard of till that moment? Yeah, those moments really suck. Avoid FOMO next week by catching up on these two boss-rated events coming up up this week. 

Tickling The Nsempiisms: a must attend book reading event

This Saturday, 25th June, 2016, at 4:30 – 6:30pm a mid-year book reading event is happening at the Vidya Book Store and I’ll tell you why you should definitely be present.

It is being organised by The Ghana Writer’s Project and hosted by two renowned Ghanaian authors; Nana Awere Damoah and Kofi Akpabli. The night will be filled with interesting excerpts and discussions about the ‘nsempiis’ going on in Ghana in the book: Tickling the Nsempiism. This event is powered by Threadex.

Nana Awere Damoah is a brilliant Ghanaian author of 4 non fictional books: Sebitically Speaking (2015), I Speak Of Ghana (2013), Through the Gates of Thought (2010), Excursions in My Mind (2008) and one fictional book: Tales from Different Tails (2011). His satirically humorous posts on Facebook on life in Ghana, have garnered him a huge following to events he hosts. 

Kofi Akpabli, the only African to win CNN awards back-to-back was voted the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist for Arts and Culture in 2010/2011. Aside the numerous poems and short stories he written, he is also the author of Tickling the Ghanaian, A Sense of Savannah Romancing Ghanaland and Harmattan.

Short discussions will be held after the book reading and copies of the book will also be available for sale and not forgetting the networking opportunities you can with fellow like-minded intellectual book lovers. 

The Stanbic Ghana Jazz Festival

The much awaited three day Jazz Festival being organised by Stanbic Bank Ghana is just three days away. It begins on Friday 24th June through to Sunday 26th June, 2016 every night at the Accra International Conference Centre. The night promises to be thrilling, filled with great jazz pieces from celebrated jazz musicians as well as noted local artistes.

This year, the headline artist is the famous jazz keyboardist, Bob James; a two time Grammy Award winner. Mr. James has in his name fifty-eight successful albums! He is well known for his complex arrangements of instrumentals and his genius touch on the keyboard.

Tom Braxton, one of America’s best saxophonist is this year’s supporting artists. He’s been in the Jazz field for nearly two decades building up his dynamic skill which constantly holds the attention of his audience.

Our very own local artistes which include Steve Bedi, Akablay, Kyekyeku, Ayisa-Dey Group, Stephanie Benson, Constant Boty, Adoma and Dr. Nii Lartey will also be making star appearances to grace the festival.

Tickets will be going for 250 and 450 Ghana cedis for regular and double respectively and for VIP, 350 cedis for single and 650 cedis for double. The tickets can be purchased at the Junction Mall and Stanbic Heights. Tickets can also be reserved at www.stanbicjazzgfestival.com

Don’t be left out! Spice up your weekend and enjoy awesome jazz groves with fellow music and jazz lovers, make friends and de-stress.

I have an event bucket list. Everyone should have an event bucket list of events they have been meaning to go to for almost a decade now.  Whether it’s in China or Tanzania, we all need an event bucket list. Life is too short to just be going to annual musical concerts which usually only happen during the Christmas holidays. Too short, I tell you.

An event bucket list is also a great way to make sure you don’t suffer from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Instead of being connected to your phone and laptop, you actually get to go out and never have fear missing out on real fun and experience.

Someone once asked me what I love to do when not working. I think my answer surprised them when I made mention of going to food fairs, jazz festivals and live plays. Perhaps I don’t look the type hence their surprise.

My event bucket list is pretty short and simple. That way I can easily meet the targets and hopefully update it with newly introduced events around the world.

First on my list is

The Paris Fashion Week.

Because MercedesBenz New York Fashion Week 2015 made me thirst and pine for more enthralling street-style fashion. It’s also Paris! Parisian fashion is fascinating and whenever I catch up on my Flipboard magazine, I just feel like teleporting into the screen. Parisian fashion bloggers are so lithe and beautifully elegantwhich is really enviable ?

2. Attend a world-class jazz festival in New York City like the New York City Jazz Festival. A savvy mix of Jazz musicians from around the world are lined up this month and the rest of the year. I just want that experience of being at the Lincoln Center during one of the Jazz night sessions.

3. Any food & drink event with different international cuisines to sample from.

I love good food. Good food makes me talk a lot. Strange, I know. But like the effect of good wine on another person, so is the same effect of good food on me. Most of my friends can testify of this. The NYC African Food Festival is looking really promising for this list. Hopefully it will be an annual event so I can start saving towards next year.  Food fairs in any country gives a first-hand taste bud experience of local cuisines. These are very unmissable.

4. The Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival is the newest event to go on my event bucket list.  Hip-Hop back in the 90’s was the shizzle!! I am a major Tupac, MethodMan, Eminem fan and any opportunity to experience live rap performances, beatboxing etc is very welcome. 

This is my very short event bucket list. I did mention that it would simple and short, right? Summer in Europe and North America is already here and most events are also lined up to celebrate some warmth and love!

Your event bucket list doesn’t have to be like mine. You can create one locally in your city or town using Eventbrite as a guide to find out what’s happening around you.

I didn’t start using makeup early. I vividly remember my friends tweaking their eyebrows, wearing foundation etc whilst in their early twenties. It was all very new for me.  All I really cared about was sneakers and jeans with my hair pulled back into a ponytail. Baby powder was enough for me.

Then I slowly started working my way into discovering which makeup was good for me. I started first with Sleek pressed powder makeup which I bought at a retail store at Makola market. It was always a challenge getting the right applicator for the powder. It was always a cringing moment when the foamy applicator after a few uses, starts breaking up into pieces. Little pieces of foam everywhere; on my face, on the dresser, on my shirt…you can relate if you have used it before.

Then I moved on to Mary Kay crème-to-powder makeup which came with it’s own applicator. Their applicator was a better experience than the foamy applicator from before. It definitely didn’t break up.

It got dirty rather quickly requiring me to wash it at least more than twice a month.

Fast forward to this year when I changed over from using the MaryKay cosmetic sponge to a powder buffer from Evita Jospeh. I came across the expansive range of cosmetics by Evita Joseph at the Auntie Oboshie Festival some weeks ago. I was intrigued by the luxurious softness of the bristles. How would it feel on my skin? 

My makeup routine is pretty short and quick most mornings and I was delighted to see how quickly the brush gave me a full coverage in less than 3 minutes. The video below shows my first trial of the brush (before and after) It was pretty amazing results! 

I took a selfie after. What do you think? Full coverage without looking too made up, isnt it? 

You know your makeup is on point when someone compliments you that you are looking fresh!

I was very satisfied with the brush. 

5 things I love about the Evita Joseph Powder Buffer

·      The brush is always quick on hand to pick and dab and blend before rushing out to a meeting.

·      It doesn’t feel like I am using a brush on my face, thanks to the amazingly soft bristles.

·      A few dabs of makeup gives more coverage which I find to be makeup saving. Of late MaryKay is riding on the dollar like everything else in Ghana.

·      I don’t have to worry about staining my hands like I do when using the cosmetic sponge.

·      It makes me look totally rad!

Now I am thinking of grabbing her other brushes as well. I am hooked! 

Coffee and writing are partners-in-crime. Imagine this scene: a writer is tapping continuously on his laptop as he draws invisible words from his thoughts onto digital paper. She pauses to find the right words for the next sentence. Nothing is coming. She reaches out and picks up a steaming cup of coffee. The aroma tingles her senses and her first sip brings a smile to her face and she immediately continues the incessant tapping.

That’s the magic of coffee for me when I wake up in the wee hours of 4am to write a post. It stimulates my mind for the rest of the morning. A cup of coffee in the morning is enough for the rest of the day. I have drank different types of coffee all hailing from different countries; Brazil, Colombia and the United States are but a few. Then I got a precious gift of Ethiopian coffee from my friend Edward who took a work trip there last year. It was a stunning experience! Take it from me. The aroma was seductive and the taste was a rich, chocolate-like flavor which was appealingly different from anything I had ever tasted.

The Internet tells me that the coffee plant originates from the abundantly lush forests of Ethiopia. According to Ethiopian legend,  a 9th- Century goat herder by the name of Kaldi discovered that when his goats ate the red coffee fruit, they became all energized! Just like me! Oh wow! I am sure he tried some himself. And here we are today.

Ethiopia is the world’s 7th largest producer of coffee and the top largest in Africa. The revenue from Coffee exports contributes more than 10% of annual government revenue.

Coffee is important to the economy of Ethiopia; around 60% of foreign income comes from coffee, with an estimated 15 million of the population relying on some aspect of coffee production for their livelihood. In 2015, coffee exports brought in $307 million from 73,227.9 tns which exceeded the countries’ expected revenue of $269 million for that year.

From coffee farmers to coffee roasters to coffee packers, the local industry has great potential to grow and be of significant economic value to the country, it’s people and the nation itself.

Here’s How Bosch Packaging is Driving The Coffee Agenda in Ethiopia.

Bosch packaging is helping to drive the coffee agenda by stimulating activity up the value chain through their technology and global expertise.

Vertical Packaging Technology

Quality packaging is very important to preserve the rich flavor of the coffee beans. Did you know coffee beans emit gases for up to five weeks when roasted? Bosch packaging maintains the aromas flavors of the coffee and allows the gas to escape if one wants to retail the coffee on the local and international market.

This video by Bosch tells the story of Ethiopian coffee, from bean to cup and gives a unique snapshot of an industry, on the move.

 5 Facts about the coffee industry in Ethiopia

1.   Coffee in Ethiopia is made up three main categories: Longberry, Shortberry and Mocha

2.   Ethiopian Harrar coffee can have a strong dry edge, winy to fruit like acidity, rich aroma, and a heavy body.

3.   One common Ethiopian coffee saying is "Buna dabo naw." This literally translates to "Coffee is our bread."

4.   The Coffee and Tea Authority, part of the federal government, handles anything related to coffee and tea.

5.   Ethiopian coffee beans that are grown in either the Harar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe or Limu regions are kept apart and marketed under their regional name

 Bosch - Invented For Life

Where do you get your coffee from? Which flavor of coffee do you think is the best? Do share in the comments below. 

There are things that you think would never happen to you. Sometimes you get to comfortable in a zone when everything seems to be going well. You have a job, which pays you well and gives you great employee perks, trains you up professionally and you just think you are set for life. Then one day, unexpectedly you get laid off. What do you do? No job security, reduced income, no health insurance and you are faced with psychological trauma.

Thankfully, I was prepared (in a better way) before I got laid off. Yes, I got laid off from my job at one of the oil and gas companies most people were fighting to get employed in. It’s been a year and two months now. I have had most people ask if I was still Tullow and my response which usually is in the negative is mostly met with surprise. I have held back revealing that I was laid off.

I have been meaning to write this post for some time now. The post has written itself on the grey matter of my brain for some months now. I have mulled over it and wondered whether I should or not. It then struck me that I should. The reason wasn’t only for it to be a form of exit for the stagnant pool of emotions to gush out but also because I believe it is a form of sharing how I unknowingly prepared for a moment like this and how you should also prepare for the same.

How did it all start? As employees we had been foretold of an upcoming laying off of employees across the globally located offices. Everyone was going to be affected. From London, Ireland to Ghana. What if I got laid off I thought to myself? Everyone had the same thoughts running through their minds. There was so much trepidation in the air. The corridors were rife with grapevine news of who got laid off in the UK offices. People I knew started packing files and personal items just in case they got the ax.

Was I that dispensable? Could the company do away with a loyal employee that they had trained internationally into Occupational Hygiene? Would they throw away the cost of all that investment? These were some of the questions I asked myself. I nevertheless prepared myself for a storm. If it didn’t happen, Glory to God. If it did, I will weather it and continue on a path I had already been creating for some time.

Some years ago, on my way to work. 

“I am sorry, the company has decided to let you go. We are thankful for your loyalty over the years…blah blah.” The ax swung! No matter how psychologically you have prepared for such a meeting, nothing prepares you for the effect of those words. It struck deep. It will strike deep. My heart thumped. Your heart will thump. Present at the same meeting, were my Line Manager and immediate boss and an HR rep. My immediate boss looked dismal. Did he know before that moment? I didn’t know. I got up numbly and went off to pack my things into a box. UK / US style. I didn’t have a plant on my desk though. My hands shook as I added the last bit of things I had prepared just in case. The “ just in case “ had actually happened. I was out of the building within 10 minutes. There wasn’t enough time to bid goodbye to work friends. What are you going to say even? “Chale, they said I should go oh.”  Nah.

Back in the days at the office with my friend Emmanuel. 

I had told my Mom of the upcoming layoffs so I told her to prepare herself as well, just in case. I called her and told her that the “ just in case “ had happened. Her disappointment and shock was summed into a single word, “OH!”

As I drove home, I tried to be strong. My emotions were haywire. Shock that I was dispensable and a relief that at least I was being compensated more than I would have made had I quit my job. That had actually crossed my mind some months back. Job fatigue or a desire for change I think.

How did I survive the layoff? Well, it wasn’t an easy journey. I experienced all kinds of emotions and that alone is enough to commit the not-so-strong to a mental institution. I hope these points will be a worthy experience to share and that you pick up some salient points as well. 

Have diverse streams of Income

•  Although I didn’t ever expect to be laid off, I have never been one to be content at earning a single income. My job paid me well enough to be content with just one source. However, I read books and listened to renowned writers and preachers who often counseled on the importance of having several streams of incomes. I started blogging in 2011 not to make money but to open the tap of my passion of writing and sharing my knowledge. It gradually opened up avenues for me to earn money on the side. It didn’t pay as much as my 8-5 but it was an opportunity to save every penny in addition to my salary. Today, creating content is now a full-time work I am immensely talented at and it has won me Best Lifestyle Blog in Africa. 😄 This is how I survived. Then I set up a social media management startup with my partner a few months after. I was able to wake up the next day after the layoff and write like nothing had happened. Don’t get comfortable in your current 8-5 if that’s all you have.

Build Your Influence

•   I built my digital and social influence ever since I took blogging more seriously. It’s something you have to do if you want to be an authority in digital media. I got recognized as a go-to woman for social media tips, blogging mentorship etc. I gave my knowledge and got back influence. Even if you don’t have digital influence, start setting yourself up as an authority in an area you are skilled in. Whether it’s in youth mentorship or childcare, invest in yourself and think of how other people can benefit from your knowledge, which is a solution to their problems.

Pray A lot

•  I prayed a lot about my career and what my next steps was going to be. Was it God who led me onto another path by moving me out of where I was? Perhaps. I inclined to believe that. My 8-5 taught me a lot about organizational structure, people management, how to organize events, teamwork etc. I believe God wouldn’t just move me out to another area without first preparing me for what lay ahead. After the layoff, it was prayer that became my outlet for venting. Depression tried to overtake me. Prayer overtook it. There were times that I was so low that waking up to do anything was a nuisance. I just couldn’t be bothered. Then I would quietly whisper to God, ‘Please help me.’ He did.

Talk to Someone

•    It always helps to talk to someone you trust about what your next steps will be. Don’t choose someone who will just whatsapp your predicament to konkonsa whatsapp group chats. You can target your Pastor or a relative who has experience in HR matters. When I spoke to my Pastor before the layoff, he was confident that I would be okay. He counseled me with really sound advice. My aunt was priceless. She had been an HR manager for almost 15 years at an international bank so she was pretty much an expert in layoff matters. Don’t keep your emotions bottled in. That would do you more harm than good. By talking to someone, I was able to free off plaguing blood-sucking questions on my mind. I also shared my frustration with my then-boyfriend who is now my husband. The thing is, no one will understand how you feel if they haven’t been through it before. But never look down a comforting hand or encouraging words.

Build Your Self-Esteem

•  I never allowed any setback to reduce my self-esteem.  I can think back on broken relationships, visa bouncing, failed exams and parental divorce. And now a layoff. I have never allowed any setback to make me think less of myself. I never thought I wasn’t good enough if something didn’t work out. Setbacks to me were just moments of redirection to a greater good. All I had to do was persevere which lead to a stronger spirit. It’s interesting how most of my Aunties and personal relations told me that ‘I was strong woman’ so I would be fine. It revealed to me that indeed people have watched me over the years and noticed my survival instincts. That didn’t happen overnight, however. It took mental strength and reminders that I was an overcomer.

o   Speak positivism over yourself. Look in the mirror and speak life to yourself.

o   Don’t allow negativism to overcome your positivism. And trust me when you are laid off, there will loads of it coming your way.

I have taken several other steps to be where I am now. I work more remotely instead of being at a sedentary desk now. I am more fulfilled in what I do now but there are loads more I can do to be where my heart yearns to go.  I have the time to explore and delve more into several passions to travel and experience the world. Now that I am married, I wont be doing that alone. 😊 Will I ever get into an 8-5? I don’t think so. I choose to consult now. It’s less stressful.

Always be prepared in life. There are storms that we never expect to happen to us. I believe that when we are more prepared, the battering of the storm is less harsh. We cant be fully prepared for every storm. We just pray for perseverance and strength when it rises up.

 Have you ever been laid off? How did you get through it? Do you know anyone who got laid off? How did they get through it? Please share your thoughts below.

I never expected that my post on being laid off would get to this overwhelming magnitude! Since I shared it, my blog has seen almost 7,000 clicks in a period of two days ( and still rising)! Comments are overflowing as well and I was just too humbled to see the words of encouragement for my honesty and “coming out”. 

I received a lot of comments via the blog & email from readers (male and female) who shared my experience, and how they struggled & are still struggling to come to terms with being laid off. Some have still not been able to get another job whilst others have been able to start out on their own business. 

I got questions on how I was able to overcome the trauma and what books I read which guided me to start out. I wrote this post to respond to those questions and it's also for anyone out there who is still struggling to overcome the mental trauma of being laid off and what resources I have read over the period to build myself up.

Prayer Really Is The Key

The first and early reactions when you get laid off are usually anger and pain. I went through it. There’s no other way to let go off pain and hurts other than through prayer. Prayer and then talk to a trusted person like i mentioned in my first post. There’s no Prophet or Pastor who will help to unburden the thoughts on your mind. All they will do is listen and pray with you. It lies on you to go on your knees and unburden your thoughts to God. Prayer has never failed me. It won’t fail you. The self-healing process starts when you lay your burdens down to God. It wont happen in an instance. But you will heal. 

Choose To Respond To Others Positively ( Look on the bright side) 

One of the commonest expressions from people when you tell them you got laid off is ‘ Oh! I am so sorry!’. It will come from your former work colleagues, family members, friends and even strangers. I don't know why I felt like I was bereaved whenever someone said that to me. It was as though I had lost a relative and my response mostly was a brave smile. How do you respond to such an expression? “ Thank you?” I actually got tired of it and had find a strategy to say something to reassure myself that I wasn't actually bereaved and my life hadn't ended. So I started laughing when I heard it. I would laugh and say, “ God took me out to take me further “ and “ Don't worry about me, I am strong”. I spoke life over my own self. Acting like a pity party wont get you anywhere. The thing is, any company can afford to do layoffs if they realise they cant afford to pay you or they have made terrible management decisions and layoffs is their only answer. You can’t stop them. What you can however stop is acting bitter and revengeful. Yes, it does hurt. So does a divorce or a relationship breakup. How you choose to rise up from where you have fallen is what will make the difference between you and the other laid off employee. 

Find Yourself in Your Strengths

One question you will ask yourself is, “ So I wasn't valuable to the company?” I asked myself that question so many times. Thoughts of things I had done in the company came to me on certain days, days when I did not feel like rising up to work. Doubts flooded my mind about my own abilities and what my strengths were. What I did was to make a LIST of my strengths as a form of assuring myself day in and out that I was capable of so much more. The loss of one job isn't the end of the world. Is it possible that you have strengths in an area which you have neglected over time because of your 8-5? Can you bring them back and discover a new you in them? This is also an opportunity to explore new areas of work where your strengths might work out even much more than the previous job.

Speaking at an event for Ghanaian Publishers at a WorldReader event.

Start That Business Idea.

I mentioned this in the first post. When I decided to focus more on social media management, I had to spend some time explaining how it works to family and some friends. Friends often asked if I was looking for another job. I replied in the negative. I was really good at social media and with my passion in creating content for my blog, it was so much easier to do so for businesses. I started first by buying a printer. Actually, that was my Pastors idea when I told him about the layoff. When I told him, he said, “ Oh you don't have a problem! You have a car already, you know a lot about the internet. All you need to get is a good internet connection and a printer.” He was right. I went out and got a printer and got Vodafone Broadband installed at home. My home office was a table by the window and I started building things up from scratch.

Get Out There And Meet New People

Why do I say this? Because you will lose the socialcircles you built at work. It happened to me. People are busy more than ever of late and your absence sometimes or most often gets forgotten. There are work colleagues who will not check on how things are progressing with you. Friends who were with you because of your prestigious job will find someone else to hang out with. Such is life. Find time and think of the friends who add value to your life and who still show love to you despite the job setback. Stick to those friends and gradually build new yet smaller friendship circles. Making new friends isn't easy as you aren't sure who to trust, etc. Even Jesus was selective about who he hang out with and even they ‘po' deserted Him. 

Find & Discover New Places

I travelled two months after I got laid off. I needed a change in my environment to relax and think of the life ahead of me. My time in Manhattan was worth every penny. I got to explore museums, go out to Central Park, take photos and eat as much as I could. I also watched Game of Thrones from Season 3 to Season 5. Travelling helps you to take your mind off past hurts, it opens up the wonders of new countries and cultures to you. Ghana is just a speck on the globe. If you can't afford travelling outside, go across the country. My number one place for a place of restoration and rejuvenation is Busua Beach. It’s not only cost-effective but the beach alone will refreshen your senses. 

Books Which Are Helping Me On The Way

A few of my readers have asked which books I read when starting out and from the top of my head; The Winning Attitude by John C Maxwell , How to Win Friends & Influence People in The Digital Age by Dale Carneigie and The Platform by Michael Hyatt. They each served their own purpose with regards to my personal success and growth in my passion. I also subscribed to Michael Hyatt’s newsletter which has proved highly useful over the last year.

There’s no shortcut around getting over trauma’s caused by layoffs. It’s a slow and often painful step-by-step journey which leads to self-healing and recovery. Every day it gets better.

When I used to do wedding photography, it was very revealing how some wedding vendors behaved on the day of the wedding. Either the bride’s car was late in arriving for decoration or the wedding cake never arrived on time at the reception. There’s always something whichhorribly wrong or delayed during weddings thanks to some vendors. I have seen brides literally lose their temper because the cake didn't arrive early enough. A friend told me that their DJ for the day also did not turn up due to some unforeseeable event. There was one wedding where the car delivering the wedding cake broke down on the way. So no cake to cut at the reception. The bride wasn't amused throughout the reception. Vendors for a wedding are everything! Get the wrong one and you could spend the rest of the wedding frowning. 

My husband and I wanted a rustic and a locally eclectic themed wedding. How were we going to do that? Which vendors could we rely on to give us a dream and yet cost-effective wedding? I have always believed that it’s possible to have a budget friendly wedding which will be memorable and fun for all time. It wasn't that difficult for us to find vendors thanks to my network of creatives which I had built over time. It was interesting choosing who to go with. In the end, it was a beautiful and unforgettable wedding. 

Instead of displaying vendors on the back of the wedding program, we decided to rather write a blogpost on the various vendors as a form of review of each delivery. That way, our guests (who will receive a link to this post) and my blog readers will know what to expect if they were to contact them. Okay! So the truth is we forgot to add it to the program and decided with this solution instead. I mean it made so much more sense! Right?

Here is the list & review of vendors we procured for the traditional wedding and the church blessing. 

Decor by ThinkMahogany

Our search for a decor company in Ghana to give us a rustic theme was a short one. ThinkMahogany was actually the top of our list. The CEO & Creative Director Debrah-Jane was someone we knew could pull off the look for us with some inspiration from us and what we were looking for. Debrah-Jane is a very busy woman with many clients every weekend. Book her early. The traditional wedding decor was even more than I imagined! Orchid vases with wooden xylophone centrepieces and kente runners. Price-wise? She can work with your budget and still give you something worth remembering. Her team setup on time on both days. The church was decorated the day before and the reception team were up and working by 6am. 

We love how she managed to transform our church auditorium, which is still a work-in-progress into delicate white drapery. I was not a fan of coloured draperies so we stuck to simple white and left the colours to reflect at the reception.

Makeup & Hair

MakeupGoddess by my friend Jackie Asante-Mensah did wonders to my face & hair for both events. I had already tested her before to see how comfortable I would be with her handiwork. 

Makeup & Natural Hairstyling in natural light for the Wedding.

 Jackie is also a friend and she was an excellent choice to go with. She is super friendly, smart and knows her makeup like I know Jollof.

What I loved about her was that my look didnt change dramatically at the end. I have seen some before & after photos of some brides eh.. and I was like… eh!!!! I didnt want my husband confused as to who he was getting married to. Jackie is also a natural hair whiz. She styled my hair by adding Darling synthetic afro hair for extra body. She smells good too. Oh why did i say that? Personal hygiene is very key for beauty experts. I have sat under the hands of some ‘experts' and my face was engulfed in waakye breath and all kinds of odours. Did I tell you she’s a lawyer too? Ha! Beauty & Brains. 

Wedding Reception.

Cleaver House was our first option. We changed our minds due to the cost and we also realised we couldn't do much with regards to influencing food options etc. So Aviation Social Centre was our next choice. Thankfully we booked the place before they had a price upgrade! Shwer! The bronze package was enough for the 150 guests number we had in mind. The package came with chairs, tables, wine and drinking glasses, waiters etc. There was a different package for indoors and outdoors. July was still a rainy season. What do we do? What if we went for the outdoor package and it rained? Thoughts of a totally ruined rained-on wedding reception crawled across my brain. Indoor too wasn't appealing. How can a rustic-themed wedding work indoors? I searched in Pinterest to see if anyone was able to pull off such a look. I wasn't too successful. Indoor weddings are also more expensive. In the end, our faith ( as tiny as a mustard seed) told us it wouldn't rain. We prayed a lot and kept checking the wedding forecast two weeks ahead of time and things were looking pretty favourable. God is a prayer answering God! It was a beautiful day! Not too hot either! Auntie Gladys is the Events Manager at Aviation, she was very lovely and she assured us that her faith wont allow it to rain. Lovely lady.

Music

DJ Armani was the first DJ I spoke to. I have known Armani since University of Ghana times, who else was I going to be comfortable with? My cousin Nii Ayi Tagoe dierr, I couldn't seem to get a hold of him. Through discussions on WhatsApp, we shared our playlist with him. He was cool and professional. The average DJ rate in Ghana is between GHC 1500 and upwards. We paid extra for the speakers though. The music was flawlessly flowing the whole time. 

This is the playlist I sent to him.

Catering

I come from a family of foodies. I had an Aunt who supported us with the food for the traditional wedding. The wedding was also catered by Edwina who is a family friend. It’s interesting that as a couple you get so busy saying hello to guests that you hardly find time to even taste the food you have paid for. But on asking my friends who ate seconds, the Jollof and Fried Yam was correct paa! Edwina is a whiz with providing meals which taste just like they were home cooked. It’s good to use people in your family who have chef fingers. You get a family discount and all! 

Drinks

Drinks like the sodas and beers were provided by the venue ( a condition in the package), but because they did not have nm3daa and sobolo on the list, we decided to bring our own. The nm3daa was correct paa! We ordered that from some corner bi in Osu. If you get to rural Osu near the St Barnabas church, ask of Attoh’s Bar. Opposite it, you will find the best nm3daa producer in Osu. I definitely did not want the drinks to be served in plastic cups. There’s no personality and character in plastic cups. It had to be calabashes! YES! I sourced 20 small sized calabashes from 31st December Women’s Market and 2 large ones. That was such an exciting experience for me! They worked perfect with the wooden bar.

The sobolo was by the caterer as well. And like Kobina Graham said, “ it was too correct!”  

We also hired a street coconut seller to serve fresh coconut juice to guests. His name is Nana and you can find him sitting close to the junction leading to the UNICEF office. We werent too pleased to find out later that he was harassing protocol for extra money for his transportation & workmanship. Why didnt he mention this earlier when we met? But his coconut is actually one of the best in town, that much I will confess.

Props

There are too many cliched props at weddings. That wedding couch at the sweetheart table wasn't appealing to us. So we decided to have a special rustic sweetheart prop made. Emmanuel was the magician who made our sweetheart wooden tent for two. He built also the drinks bar which was actually my idea. A bar with palm-fronds for serving sobolo and nm3daa, what could be more eclectic and local?And he did a grrreaatt job! We kept in touch through WhatsApp. He sent design drafts before constructing the tent. He didnt disappoint. Cost was less than 500 for the two props. I got a discount actually for being innovative with my idea. He fixed everything in time for the reception.  

Flowers

Orchidea is not just any flower shop. It’s a place to go and be awed by their uncommon collection of orchids, cactuses and bonsai trees. Just go and awe and marvel.  My bouquet, the groom & his groomsman’s corsage and the maid-of-honor’s corsage were beyond heavenly. My bouquet was a cascading shape of white roses and purple orchids. The orchids trailed gently from the roses which smelled too delicious! 

I was sad to throw it into the air and watch it being shred to pieces. 

The Bouquet Catching Champion

The groomsman picked up the flowers at the scheduled 9am on the wedding day. It was ready. No delays.

Our Wedding Rings Vendor

Of course the rings! I almost forgot the most essential item! Like my Pastor advised, don't spend too much on decor and food. Invest in your ring. It’s what will always remind you of the love between the two of you.” Our rings were made by Charlton & Lola, a jewellery brand based in New York City and owned by Ghanaian Lisa Owusu. She is very flexible with any design you may have in mind and she sent us some examples of her work as well. Delivery is another story though. A good one don't worry. But it was just the grace of God which got it in during the week of the wedding. What an adrenalin rush!

Wedding Dress & Suit

I don’t like wahala when it comes bespoke fashion. Having experienced too much stress with local seamstresses, I wasn't in the mood to find a Ghanaian wedding dressmaker. I know there are some really good ones out there. But on speaking to a few friends who had gone local; it was expensive to sew local. So I went online. Yes, I bought my wedding dress on an online store. In China. Shocked eh? It was such a huge risk I know! My dress was from JJ’s House and I bought it almost three months ahead of time incase there was something wrong with it, i could have it adjusted. That’s another story I will tell in another upcoming post on my experience. Edem’s suit was custom-made by Kwashie Tailors. He went to about 2 fittings and he was pleasantly pleased by the outcome. It fit him perfectly, right from the shoulders to his trouser pants. 

Dapper Groom & Husband 😍😘

The Wedding Cake Vendor

We found PipersGh on Instagram. Another risk we took as we didnt know anyone who had tried them before. Wedding cakes are so expensive of late. We got some inspiration from Pinterest and decided on a three-tiered cake. We met Abigail, the owner for a cake tasting at the Oxford Street Mall. She was late to the meeting ( we didnt even get an apology for the lateness) and then we tasted the flavours we requested for. It was just okay. We later asked for a more brandy flavoured traditional wedding cake which somehow she was reluctant to do and instead suggested rum flavoured instead. What happened to giving the client what they want? Sigh. In the end the cake came on time and we had to cut it early as the sun wasn't taking it easy on it. She added a fake model to make it four tiered for a longer look. We paid GHC 2000 for it. 

Invitation Cards & Wedding Programs

Our invitation was in a league of its own. As the reception was at the Aviation Social Center, we thought it fun to make it a flight ticket themed invitation card. Unfortunately we were disappointed by two graphic designer friends we had turned to. They know themselves. All kinds of delays, not picking calls and all manner of things got us to turn to Fiverr for a quicker and much more cost-effective solution. Design cost us only $20 for both invitation & program. The printing was by BlueVyne Ltd. The printing quality was matte okay. We spent about GHC 1200 printing for 200 guests. 

Bridal Jewellery & Accessories

I made my own drop pearl earrings, pearl bracelet and fabric hair comb.

I was a DIY Bride thanks to Pinterest. 😄😂 I bought the wedding pearl comb from a family friend’s shop in Osu. There are some hidden gems around the city. You should just know where to look. I was waiting for a hair comb from Ahenze but it never came. 🙃 I bought a silver beaded clutch from AkilaGh which was simple yet classic. My shoes which were a lovely gift from my oldie bestie came from David’s Bridal. The vintage look to the simple jewel on the side just got my heart! 

Kente Apparel for Traditional Wedding

I bought my kente some months ago from Yaa (0244733075) , a doctor friend who works at 37. Her kente collection and prices met my good side. My seamstress, Rebecca went to work on the engagement dress using several design inspirations I had sent her on whatsapp. It was perfect! That’s what I love about her. Once she’s done with a dress, there’s no need for fitting. Kaftan for my husband was made by Shamida who is close to Celsbridge in Labone. 

Photography & Video

Nfoningraphy by Nii Odzenma was my photographer for both days. Although an art photographer of late, my friend and colleague made a beautiful exception to shoot our special day. He worked with Gerard Nartey of EpicDreamsPictures who was calm and professional as always. 

Video was shot by Nuptials, the wedding video company by Ob Abenser. Although we are yet to see the video, the preview was enough to make us super uber excited! The video has garned about 7K views already. Please like their page already and do give him a call. 

 A BiiiGG thank you to Serge Attukwei Clottey, Ghana's finest contemporary artist who recently launched ' My Mother's Wardrobe' and kindly borrowed us one of his popular pieces which we used as a fantastic backdrop! It was so perfect for selfies and fun photos with friends and family.

Wedding Favors

I personally made the wedding favors as well by creating a fiery spice blend. I found these vintage woven baskets in the market and they were so perfect for the spices. This for me was a great way to show our friends and families that we love them so much as to create homemade spices for their use. Some wedding favors sometimes ends up never being used.

Which vendors were you happy with during your wedding? Which vendor were you most happy with? Have you heard of horror stories of vendor’s at a friend’s wedding?

Making a decision on who you want to marry should be easy. Choosing who you want to fall in love with and end up marrying should be based on your personal decision and choice. If you want to marry someone from the North, South, East or West or from any tribe that should be something you as a person should be free to do. Right? But why is it that in Ghana and perhaps other African countries; parents do not give their children the freedom of choosing who to settle down with when it comes to the tribe of their partner?

The only time my Mother said anything concerning my choice of a partner was when she forbade me to bring a Nigerian to the family. She wasn’t also interested in seeing a dread-loced man in the house either. But pertaining to tribe, she wasn’t very specific. I guess I was free to marry from any part of Ghana.

I was listening to CitiFm last week when the topic of tribalism was sub-discussed on how it affected the choice of a marital partner. Two people are in love but their parents refuse to accept one of them because they come from one part of the country. An example of such a scenario:

Adjorkor meets Aryeetey during a girls hangout. They exchanged numbers and after a few dates they fall in love. After 2 years of dating, Aryeetey decides to propose. Adjorkor excitedly says yes and tweets it on her timeline. Her Facebook timeline is also filled with congratulations on the fresh bubbly news! People are asking when the wedding is going to be. She’s in 6th heaven. She then tells her parents who know of Aryeetey’s visits to the house. Her parents then decide to probe more into this news. “Where is he from?”

Adjorkor shyly swings her body and folds her hands in front of her, ‘Daddy, he’s from Volta Region?”

Silence. Her mother looks away into the distance and silently murmurs inaudibly “hmmmmmm”.

A worried shadowy look crosses Adjorkor’s face. “Anything the matter?”

“You cant marry from that region! And that’s final! You should find another Ga man or another tribe.”

What is Adjorkor going to do now? Aryeetey was the only man she had ever loved and was the only man who had treated her like a queen all these years. Should she wait and hopefully pray and fast that her parents would change their minds one day?

Although this is a fictional story it nevertheless portrays the realism some couples are facing or have faced before. Relationships have broken up because of marital tribalism. Parents forbid their children to marry from a particular tribe because of their personal experiences with members of that social group. They prefer their children to marry from the tribe they were born into. 

Shockingly, you would be surprised that parents who often utter such statements are the learned. They have degrees upon professional degrees but when it comes to this area of discussion they stick to their old rusty guns of not marrying from another or a particular tribe. Pure tomfoolery.

What is their reason for this? Interestingly, some parents have reasons like; “we don’t want to travel far to see our in-laws”, “those people are troublesome”, etc. Excuses I say. Will they be able to admit to being discriminatory against another tribe?

I remember making a promise to myself some years back, that I will never marry a Ga man.  Why? Well,  after dating two Ga men in my early 20’s I knew I wasn’t cut out to marry from my tribe. We were always fighting verbally. You know what they say about Ga people too when it comes to arguments. LOL!! Or perhaps it was just a personality discord. Also I had seen my parents marriage fail and that also influenced my decision. Whenever we went visiting relatives, it further cemented my decision.  Shouting matches bi what?! Kai! 

After listening to the show, I cast my mind back to girl talks I had had in the past with my female friends. We would whisper in secret how men from the various regions were like. This was a funny one but there was that whispered rumor that men from the North had controlling attitudes and owned GIGANTIC penises. ROTFL!!! 😂😂😂  Some also said Fante men were lazy so they weren’t interested. But it wasn’t the women only though. I had male friends who would swear that women from Volta were the sweetest! And by that they mean…good in bed. But you knew that already. 😋

I ended up with a Togolese Ewe man eventually. My husband swears it’s the best combination ever. Ewe & Ga. Na so? My parents didn’t even blink when I told them. I guess they were in hurry to see me married off so they couldn’t be bothered anymore on where he was coming from. Life. Funny as hell. 😂😂

Instead of parents being concerned about whether their potential in-law is an armed robber or a crook they are rather being judgmental on tribe. Instead of being focused on the character, vision and personality of their potential in-law, they are more concerned if he's from the Eastern or Western Region. Some families insist on endogamy (marrying from one's tribe). But here's whats interesting, these same families will say yes if you decide to marry a Westerner or an Obroni and perhaps another African country. So what's wrong with our own people?? 🤔

I remember when we informed both our parents of our decision to marry and my husband’s grandmother took on herself to find out which home I came from. I mean she literally sent scouts to my Grandfather’s family home to enquire if they knew my Mom and I. It’s old school you might say. But that for me is more essential than which tribe the man or woman is coming from. Such enquiries enables family’s to investigate whether you come from a home where there’s generational insanity or sicknesses. Thankfully, she found nothing but rather got to discover that she knew my Grandfather personally. Small world. 👫

Is there a solution for anyone facing difficult parents who refuse to accept their partner's tribal background? What should they do in the face of such predicament? 

Be strong and stand by your choice.

Sadly, many of us were brought up in a way which has made us timid as adults. The Ghanaian parent will shout at you, whip you and not encourage you to pursue your interests instead will push their agenda on to you to fulfil for their gain. Daddy wants you to become a doctor because his friends are also Doctors. Daddy wants you to go his alma mater because it's a tradition. He married from his tribe so that should be your destiny. If you say no to his suggestions it's an abomination which can lead to dire consequences. But you are an adult now and what's the worse that could happen? Stand by your partners choice if the only protest they have is that of tribal. 

Stay united as a couple 

There's strength in unity and agreement. If the couple stand together and agree on their decision, it will be harder for the parents to keep saying no. A lady called in to the same program and said that although her parents were being difficult, her partner is standing by her and has assured her of his stance. He isn't going anywhere. 

Family Intervention?

Can the couple get another family member who is more open-minded to speak with their parents? 

Ghanaian parents who are preventing their children from getting married because of tribal differences should seize and desist. It's not only backward but causes unnecessary pain and bitterness. 

Have faced a similar experience where your parents forbade you from marrying from another tribe or region of the country? What did you do? Have a story to share with regards to this issue? Please share in the comments below. 

Nothing prepared us for this wedding gift. Here we were opening gifts we had received from friends and family when I picked up a large gift. I looked at the name tag and gasped! It was from my cousin and his wife who lived in South Africa. Why was I surprised? Well, because we had just been chatting about two weeks before the wedding on our family whatsapp group chat and he promised he would get us something. Automatically, I presumed it would probably be a cash gift he would send wirelessly or perhaps some present after the wedding. This was very unexpected! When i ripped open the wrapping we both gasped and went like “Oh Wow!” 😱😳😵😄

I hadn't seen anything like it before and I doubt my hubby had either. A variety of spices packed into test-tube like bottles with the name ‘African Spices’ stared back at our astonished faces. We burst out laughing in delight. This was insanely beautiful. 😍 Just have a look at it and testify. 

The spices were a tangy mix of different spices for different meats and foods. It was a product of South Africa and was by a company called Kalk Bay foods (www.eatart.co.za). They had cleverly combined different African spices.

I almost felt like cooking right away! 🏇💨💨

The back of the packaging showed which spice could be used for which meats or meals and of course which herbs were in each tube. There was a spice for every meal I could think of. A spice for fish? It had it. A spice for pork? It was there. A spice for vegetables? Definitely. I

I knew my cousin’s wife was behind this. And I was so right as she confessed it during aWhatsApp chat. Our thanks was so profuse and endless. Endless. 

A day finally came for me to try out my first spice tube and I chose the Peri Peri because I had bought some chicken wings and this spice was going to be absolutely purrfect.

The ingredients in the Peri Peri were enough for me not to add any other spice other than vinegar and lime. It was a spicy mix of chillies, blackpeppercorn seeds, onion, cumin, lemon oil, paprika oil, brown sugar, sea salt etc. 

Here’s my recipe for this wonderful oven-grilled chicken wings which I paired naturally with fried yam chips. You really cant go wrong with grilled chicken wings and yam chips. Almost like Honeysuckle's but better 😬😁

Preparation time : 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Meal for two.

Ingredients

For Marinating the Chicken Wings

Peri Peri dry spice 

10-12 pieces of fresh or frozen chicken wings

1 spoon of malt vinegar

1 tbsp lime juice because there was no lemon.

1/2 tsps salt 

For the Fried Yam

1 tuber of yam

For the Pepper Sauce

Store-bought black pepper or shito 

Fresh Kpakposhito for the green sauce

1/2 onion, chopped up for the green sauce.

Directions 

1. Wash chicken wings in room temperature water and remove any feathers at the tips if sighted.

2. Dab the wings dry using a kitchen tissue. 

3. Add in one spoon of vinegar

4. Dash in the  lime juice

5. Sprinke in 2 tbsp Peri Peri spice and mix in really well with both hands. Store in fridge for 10-30mins depending on when needed. Mine went in for 30 mins and I used the rest of the time to prepare the rest of the meal. 

To make the fried yam:

1. Slice yam into round slices and chop that into strips for the fry-look. 

2. Pour hot water over the slices and let sit for five minutes. 

3. Place a saucepan on fire and fill with about 3 cups of sunflower oil.

4. Once its hot, fry the yam, tossing every five minutes to ensure all sides are crisp but not browned. 

4. Remove and place on kitchen tissue to soak away the oil. 

To make the green chilli sauce

1. Grind the Kpakposhito also called ‘ Scotch bonnet pepper’ in an asanka. You can try the easy way using a food processor but that’s sacrilege for me. 
2. Add chopped onions and grind together. Add a pinch of salt and spoonful of olive oil for freshness. 

Time to grill the wings!

1. Pre-heat your gas oven for 5 minutes
2. Lightly cover the base of the oven tray with oil to prevent wings from sticking awfully to it.
3. Place wings, giving enough distance between each. 
4. For basting, I quickly mixed a spoonful of garlic-flavoured olive oil with vinegar and touched it lightly over the wings.

I simply cannot wait to try out the rest of the spices with other meals. Maybe charcoal-grilled pork will be next. Or perhaps grilled seafood. Hmm..what of pan-fried grouper. Chai!

My mechanic died two months ago. He didn't die in a car accident. He died of a lump which grew in his armpit. Strange huh! I first met Day about two years ago when a friend introduced me to him during my search for a trustworthy mechanic who won't do a ‘trial and error’ on my car. He was very stocky man, what we call in Ghana ‘thick-tall’ and was always with a broad smile. Day was always there whenever I had a car issue. 

I remember advising him to wear gloves to protect his hands whenever he worked with grease and oils at his workshop. I was worried about his calloused, darkened hands whenever I went to the workshop. I shared what I had learnt during my training in Occupational Hygiene at BOHS as much as I could about the hazards of these chemicals. He said the gloves made working more difficult but he would nevertheless try. 

About a year ago, I called him randomly to ask how he was doing and to berate him for not even asking of the car. He was his jovial self but told me that he hadn't been well for some time and that he had gotten a boil in his armpit. I brushed it off as nothing serious. I mean, really, we all get boils in our armpits sometimes especially after shaving. He said he had been to the hospital already. 

I later asked him to come by after my car had a brake pad problem. I went to the gate to meet him after he receiving his call that he was here. I was SHOCKED! What kind of boil was this? Day had shrunk before my eyes. He was still tall but now his body had shrunk horizontally in size and he had a gaunt look about him. 

“ Hoh! Day Maaba???”  * Day, why?*

“Hmmm… Sister, jee sane bibioo eh!” he responded. * Sister, its not a small matter.*

I wanted to probe further and invited him into the hall. My Mom joined us and also expressed shock at his appearance. He told us of his visits to the hospital and how the doctors said it was a skin infection or so. He was taking several drugs to treat it but nothing was happening although the boil was gone. He was now suspecting that it was someone in his family ‘ doing him’ so he was now going to a church in Kasoa. He was suspecting witchcraft. We gave him some financial support to help him through with the rest of the treatment. That was the last time I saw Day. He died leaving behind four kids and a wife. 

I think of all those mechanics working under very harsh conditions without protective gear and living in ignorance of what they are being exposed of and I shudder. I constantly see them sucking fuel from car tanks, opening leaking valves with their bare hands and dipping their hands in automobile oil. I remember the photo walk I led during#BlogCamp15 in Suame, Kumasi. Dangerous conditions of work. But who cares? You can find more photos under the hashtag on Instagram #SuameGang . 

The Welder ★ I spent the morning with the #SuameGang exploring the Suame Industrial Area of Kumasi. Interesting people, products & skills but a lot of unsavoury comments too. It was also interesting to hear stories about how they deal with the power crisis - some have generator, others just have to endure the outages. #PhotoWalkGH #BlogCamp15 #DumsorMustSTOP #🇬🇭

A photo posted by Kwabena (@kwa_bena) on May 9, 2015 at 4:30am PDT

The Welder ★ I spent the morning with the #SuameGang exploring the Suame Industrial Area of Kumasi. Interesting people, products & skills but a lot of unsavoury comments too. It was also interesting to hear stories about how they deal with the power crisis - some have generator, others just have to endure the outages. #PhotoWalkGH #BlogCamp15 #DumsorMustSTOP #🇬🇭

A photo posted by Kwabena (@kwa_bena) on May 9, 2015 at 4:30am PDT

Did Day die of skin cancer due to prolonged exposure to the chemicals he worked with? Did the build up of toxins in these chemicals lead to an irreversible skin disease? I cant judge but I sincerely believe they were contributing factors. 

People are dying in their workplaces and they aren't even aware that they are being exposed to serious health issues due to the substances they work with. Substances like paint, sand, varnishes, oils, flour, wheat, fertilisers, ink etc are all dangerous to your health if you work with these within your 8-hour work period. Office workers arent safe either. Back and neck pains are very common illnesses sedentary workers face every now and then due to incorrect posture and inappropriate work furniture.

Exposure to wheat and other grains during harvesting/processing can lead to allergic reactions.

A Galamsey miner. Photo by Emmanuel Bobbie

The sad thing is most employers are not protecting their employees from being exposed to these substances. This is also because the Ministry of Employment & Labor Relations are doing absolutely jack in enforcing laws set in the outmoded Factories, Offices & Shop Act 1970 (Act 328). No enforcement policies are in place to bind employers to do their moral and legal responsibilities towards their employees. Inspectors who are supposed to go around monitoring and inspecting factories are as rare as a unicorn. But let an incident occur right now and the media will be full of noise as usual with blame games everywhere.

Every substance we work with is poisonous. Whether it’s glass or paper, metal or paint, wood or fabric, noise or heat, they are all poisonous. 

"All substances are poisons, there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy" – Paracelsus (1525)

How Can You Be Exposed To These Substances

The human body has many entry points for toxins to enter. Think of your skin, lungs, eyes 👀, nose 👃🏾, ears 👂🏽👂🏽, etc. There are many ways you can die from prolonged exposure to substances.

• You stand a risk of illnesses like occupational asthma through the breathing in of fumes, mists, aerosols and vapours from fuels or paints. Or having dermatitis from your skin coming into contact with paints oils, soaps, bleaches and detergents. You can have hearing impairment from over exposure to noise above certain decibels or be blind in the eye from chemical splashes.
• If you work in a silicone factory or cement producing factory, you are at the risk of silicosis and lung cancer. 
• If you work in a flour producing factory you are at the risk of occupational asthma which occurs due to inhalation of flour particles over a period of time. The smaller the particles being inhaled, the more it is absorbed into the lungs causing a build up.  The lungs are unable to get rid of the particles due to the particle size.
• If you work with wood ( furniture maker) over a long period of time, wood dust which collects in your nose and lungs can cause nasal sinus cancer. Leather dust can also cause same. 
• Skin contamination with some paints which contain lead can lead to developmental delay conditions in the foetus of expectant mothers who work in the paint industry.

The scary thing about working with toxic substances is that they are chronic in nature. This means that if you are going to be ill in any way, the illness will show itself after about 3 years or more. It’s not acute or an immediate illness/sickness like malaria or cholera. 

One early morning, I run into a friend ( I have forgotten his name 😓 ) just as I was about to enter Rabito clinic. He called me by name and I spun around in surprise. As we exchanged pleasantries, he told me of an Uncle who was very ill with some form of cancer. I cant recollect what brought about the topic. His Uncle was apparently really sick and close to death. He had been diagnosed of some form of cancer of the lung or so. His family had sent him to almost every specialist and nothing was working. So now the family was suspecting witchcraft. I asked him where his Uncle worked and his response; “ Some printing press bi”. 

Hmmmm… Then I asked him if his lung had been infected and the response was yes. “ They said it was black in some areas or something like that".  So i shared with him the dangers of being exposed to toner ink which is used in the printing process. Toner ink disperses into the environment in tiny mists which aren't visible to the human eye. Many people working in the printing industry don't often wear nose masks when in the production stage of printing and they often work long hours in order to deliver printing products on time. He agreed that it made sense. Here is a list of health hazards you face if you are working in the printing industry. 

I went to Nice Nails to get my bridal nails done and I almost backed out in surprise! There was a thick cloud of nail varnish, nail removal and all kinds of aerosol vapour in the air. I saw some of the nail artistes wearing nose masks. At least they were protecting themselves. I suggested to one of the ladies to naturally ventilate the shop as often as they can. Her response was to laugh and say that, ‘This place we don't open the windows oh!’. 🙊

A friend also told me of her friend who has worked in the X-Ray department of a hospital in Accra for the past 10years.   He got married and after trying for some years, realised they couldnt conceive because he had been exposed to some of the X-Rays over a period of time. 😯

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself or Someone You Know?

1. Find out the health hazards you are being exposed to at your workplace. - Don't live in ignorance Whether you work in a small-scale cleaning company or have your side gig as a wood carver or furniture maker, you need to know how you can protect yourself from the substances you are working with. There’s a lot of resources to glean from the HSE website. 
2. Invest in protective gear.  Protective gear can be expensive but guess what, an injury or hospital bill is way more expensive. Gloves are great if you work with flour and other food ingredients on a constant basis.
3.  Conduct a simple risk assessment ( Its very easy) If you own your own business, you owe it to yourself and your employees to do this. You can use this tool to do it. 

    4. Advice your friends and families about the risks they face. Dont keep all this knowledge to yourself. Instead of sharing funny cat photos, send them this article or any useful information you may find on the HSE website to them. 

    5. Go for annual medical checks- this is key if you work in mining, forestry, food and drink industries, paper and rubber-making industries. Simple lung, blood, spinal and skin checks can prevent complex and costly illness. 

We should be more alert and conscious of the things which we are being exposed to in our workplaces. Even the chair you sit on can kill you. We tend to over-spiritualise everything in this country. It’s always some old woman in your village trying to kill you when indeed it’s your ignorance which is slowly tying a noose around your neck. 

Which industry do you work in? Are you aware of the health hazards you face due to the substances you work with? Is your employer protecting you enough? Please do share in the comments below. 

P.S- Not all die be die wai! 😅

Have you recently created a Whatsapp group and totally lost control of the group page? A page which you set up to manage an event, a community group or an old students meetup group which has suddenly evolved into a horrific mass of chain mail, if-you-dont-forward-this-you-wont-get-your-blessings texts and forwards which eat into your data.

This can easily happen to you especially when you aren't conversant with being a super Group admin manager.

These are my top tips for managing a WhatsApp Group like a boss

1. Set The Ground Rules

Once you have collected the database of phone numbers which you want to add to the group; always and always set rules and regulations which will govern the page. Once you have  added all the requisite number of people you need on the page, instantly communicate the purpose of the page and what rules are in place for the group page. Assuming you have to add 10 people to the group page; ensure you have that list first. Once you do, send out the rules to all 10. Don't add 3 people and then the rules, then 4 people then the rules. That will be a drag. 

Examples of rules to put in place:

    - only relevant content and topics are to be shared here. 

    - No forwards or spam messages please 

    - No sharing of pornographic or graphic images 

    - Please message another member privately if the message isn't for the consumption of this     group page. etc

2. Give the Group an Appropriate Name

This is an easy one but very necessary as most people are on two groups or more and being distinct with the group name is key. 

3. Create a custom notification

Create a custom notification for the group chat to alert you whenever someone posts to the page. This helps to catch up on messages that must be responded by you or others on the page. 

That way it differentiates between the general notifications you may get from friends and family. Also because rules are in place, members will not be posting ‘by heart’ to the page unless it’s necessary and relevant. 

4. Save Incoming Media

Is it an events group page? Perhaps a community member is working on a creative for posting to social media and it may need an approval or review by all members, if yes then you need to save incoming media. Turn on this feature in the Group Info page. To save space on your phone, you can back up the old photos to a cloud app like Google Drive and delete them from your phone once done. You would be surprised that members might miss out on creatives posted on the page for review and some would even ask for it to be forwarded again.

5. Use the Reply button

Questions may often get posed on the page to which only you as a group admin can respond to, when this happens use the Reply button toolbar to respond to that particular person. Using the Reply button notifies the person directly even if they have muted the group page. That way they don't have to scroll through the whole conversation looking for a response. Also you should teach group members to use this feature when they want to direct a question to a specific person on the chat. 

Get to work on these tips if you haven't put them into place already. It's about time you became a B.O.S.S at your whatsapp group game.

Are you in a group chat, what is the group admin doing right or wrong? Please post your comments below. :D

If you have seen RunAway Bride, then you would understand what cold feet means when it’s time to walk down the aisle. An unforgettable scene; Julia Roberts starts walking down the aisle, suddenly her steps become unsure and she suddenly turns around and starts running in the opposite direction with a horrified confused groom 😦 left at the altar and a page boy trying in vain to grab her train from departing. 

A bit dramatic but many real brides have experienced this feeling before and even during their weddings. Well, I did too. Cold feet is basically that unsure, scared feeling a bride or groom feels a few days to their wedding. Sometimes it’s the fear of the unknown, excitement of the new phase or a state of wondering if your soon-to-be partner was the right choice.

Why did I have cold feet before my wedding? There were so many factors then; family discordance on dates, vendor disappointments all which led to little arguments between me and my husband. Then all of a sudden I am wondering to myself, am I making the right decision? What if it doesn’t work? Then there was the almost surreal dream-like experience of me asking myself, ‘Ei! Is this me getting married?’ What a wait too it’s been. In the end I didn’t run away from the altar.

Don't panic if you have cold feet. It's not a bad thing. The thought of forever with the same person can seem daunting right?

How can you get past cold feet before your wedding?

Ask yourself these two simple questions:

1.     What was your why?

Why did you ask her to marry you? Why did you accept his proposal? What is your why? There is something you noticed in your partner which drew you to their presence and made you feel that YAASS feeling! Whatever that reason, remind yourself about it during the wedding preparations.

2.     Where have you come from? 

How long has been your journey to here? Every relationship journey is wrought with joys and fights. Have the joys been more than the fights? Can you think of more happy times with your partner than the fights? If you can say yes, then let that thought keep you going. Positive and good memories can drive away the fear of the unknown. As a couple, talk to each other before the wedding and talk about your past joys and what lies ahead. It helps both of you to get warmer feet. 

Did you ever experience cold feet before your wedding? Know a friend who did and bailed like Julia Roberts? If you are positive about your choice of a partner then be bold like a lion because no man will jump on a horse and come after you. That’s Hollywood deception.

The year 2016 is almost complete and if you created a savings resolution at the beginning of the year I would like to ask you, how is that going? I’m guessing it’s not too great, right? The economy is also not helping, with rising food prices and salaries that haven't been increased. How would you like to get back on track with your savings goals? I definitely would!

Sometimes you just ask yourself where your money has gone, and when you sit down and think about it, you will realise you have spent more on eating out at restaurants and chewed pork at the pub than you even planned to do. You have fulfilled your instant gratification needs. Meanwhile you have dreams of saving towards something of high value in the future, which is a delayed gratification need. You have chosen to satisfy your hand versus satisfying your heart (heart vs hand). 

Watch this video on the heart vs hand to understand more about your choices. 

So what do you think? Are you a hand or heart after watching the video?

Short-term instant gratification doesn't bring long-term satisfaction or return, although it brings you a quick but short-lived pleasure. It only satisfies you for the now. Then there’s your delayed gratification, which will bring you long-term satisfaction but is so much more difficult to do.

I was saving towards my wedding as far back as early 2015, so when I got married, expenses towards the day were easily met. Weddings in Ghana aren't cheap. Saving and planning towards a budget-friendly wedding is more important than ever before!

 We are going to embark on a two month saving goal of travelling to an island somewhere in Africa (location withheld). This goal is going include the cost of tickets, hotel or Airbnb stay and food. I wish I could go NOW! But it’s just one of those things that requires planning and saving, so I am compelled to be patient and work towards it which is perfectly doable.

Although I am not paid monthly like the average Ghanaian worker, which would make this a whole lot easier, I know this goal will be attainable thanks to the multiple streams of income I have created.

The savings campaign by Barclays will help you with useful savings tips and ideas.

This article is the first in a series of sponsored posts for the BARCLAYS SAVINGS CHALLENGE. I hope the challenge has been as interesting for you as it has been for me. You can follow the discussion on Twitter and Facebook and share your own experience by using the hashtag #AFRICASAVES.

Visit  https://savings.africa.barclays/  for useful savings calculators and more information on savings accounts.

Yes you read that right. Presidential candidate and hopeful Nana Akufo-Addo is tearing his Twitter account to shreds with his tweetstorm #ItWontWork. So far his timeline is flooded with the hashtag to communicate to his opponents ( key or minor)  that no matter what they say or do #ItWontWork. 

Last week, there seemed to be an exchange of words or should I say 'name calling from the camp of the President and that of the Presidential hopeful. Has this abated? 

Well, as to whether it has stopped, Nana Addo is using his account to air his feelings. 

In the meantime, the language against me is going to continue, and I want to recall some of the things they have said. #ItWIllNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

Here are some of his tweets which are slowly increasing in engagement and will soon be trending..

They said I was a drug addict. It didn’t work. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

They said I was sick. It didn’t work. #ItWIllNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

But who made this derogatory statement? Smh.

They said I was a hunchback. It didn’t work. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

Why would anyone say this? Can we discuss issues prevailing in our country? 

They said I was a dwarf. It didn’t work. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

They said I was in a wheelchair. It didn’t work. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

Has someone gone where they shouldn't? 

They said I will die in June. It didn’t work. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

They said I was a dictator. It didn’t work. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

They said I had a secret agenda to destabilize the country. It didn’t work. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

The Presidential hopeful ended his tweetstorm with one last strike. 

It looks as if the only way the President will get a third term is when I am sick or dead. #ItWillNotWork

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 29, 2016

Social media in Ghana is going to get a whole lot more interesting during this election period. There's a whole lot more the Presidential candidates can do online to communicate how they plan to solve social issues in Ghana. 

What do you think of the #ItWontWork tweetstorm? Will it work? 

* Disclaimer: I am not affliated to any political party in Ghana. This post is free of any political influence from any party or individual. Any comment from any reader which is defamatory in nature will not be approved so dont waste your time posting it. Thank you.

Highlife in Ghana is not dead. We may have meandered away a bit over the past few years with HipLife taking center-stage in the music industry but thankfully, we are finding our way back. 

Asenso is one of those musicians bringing us back onto the almost-forgotten path and after listening to Jaara, I felt a stirring within me. Not that kind of stirring 😏. But a pleasurable emotion that all was not lost.  

George Asenso Acheaw whose stage name is Asenso is a rising soulful highlife musician in Ghana who has launched Jaara.  

Asenso is under the Eagleye Record Label and a Part of the HigherLife Music group ( next generation Artistes under the label taking Ghanaian music to the next level) which includes other artiste as Lingua , Worta and Dhakiyah.

 Asenso

Jaara in Hausa means " Top Up" or " Add On" is a sensuously stimulating song yet with an upbeat body swaying tempo. It's one of those songs, you definitely cannot dance alone. 😉 

 The song is all about the calling of a lonely young man to his beautiful Julie to come and keep him warm as he's feeling cold. His voice speaks of his yearning as he questions when his love will return home. Yep, loneliness isn't a good thing. 

It's beautiful ballad for weddings, private parties, bridal showers, etc. This song is going places! I would want to hear Asenso sing with a live-band though. That I think will be an ultimate test of his singing abilities. Or what do you think? Over to you Asenso. 😋

Have a listen to Jaara yourself and tell me you aren't bobbing your head already.

Follow his rising music journey on Twitter @Asensomusicgh Facebook @Asensomusicgh SoundCoud @Asensomusicgh

Back in Ridge Church School we were grouped in groups of 5 and each group was taught how to start a vegetable garden. It was a really exciting moment which taught us how to create the beds, how to distance seeds and best of all how to harvest the produce. Beautiful memories. 

Vegetable gardening skills is slowly escaping most of us. Many homes are now concreted with most people not wanting to bother with the maintenance and care which comes with owning a garden (horticultural or vegetable). But what eludes most people is that, having a garden is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of keeping your home more fresh and healthier.

• Greens in your home ensures that the surrounding air is fresher due to plants taking in carbon-dioxide and releasing oxygen back into the air. 
• Having a garden is great stress reliever which helps you take your mind off work and deadlines.
• It helps you to be more physically active as gardening involves shovelling, composting etc. Your body needs to be physically active.

Last year at the Ghana Garden & Flower Show #GGFS2016, it was indeed a rare find to discover vendors in the horticultural industry all together in one place. It was a place to find everything you need to start your own vegetable or flower garden.

The event this year, organised by STRATCOMM Africa is once again taking place at the Efua Sutherland Park and starting from 8th September to 14th September the event promises a whole lineup of not just flower exhibitions but a #PartyInthePark night on the 10th. 

There will be conferences, workshops, a BBQ Cookoff, a Jazz Night featuring CinaSoul amongst many others. So whether you choose to come during the day or after working hours there's something for you to indulge in.

A little bird tweeted at me saying @Cina_Soul will be performing at #GGFS2016 🙌🏾 during some correct jazz night pic.twitter.com/tRZk78bv02

— Oyoo Kumodzi (@OyooQuartey) September 5, 2016

 The event is in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) goal towards ecotourism in order to create awareness about the commercial and psychological benefits of horticulture and floriculture. 

This will be an event worth attending as it also brings you an opportunity to network and find new business partners and suppliers. 

Bring your kids👭  too so you can teach them how make the earth green. It's so important for them to learn how to maintain the earth looking at how some are destroying our country through galamsey. 😡

Follow more on the event using the hashtag #GGFS2016 and follow @onebaobab for live streaming, photos and interviews and so much more! 

Did the weekend come to an end too quickly? Saturday was a quiet day at home, creating video recipes for my food blog. That’s when I realised that I need more kitchen accessories– which meant that I was going to the supermarket!

I am tracking small expenses for my home and work this week, so that I’m able to know where I can save more money that I can put towards my savings goal of travelling outside the country.

As far back as I can remember, I have never really been a big spender when it comes to material things. I think my Mom at one time got worried that I was too ‘chisel’. She didn’tunderstand why I didn’twant to buy loads of bags and shoes like the other girls. ‘You are working eh! Enjoy your money small eh!’ she would chide. The thing is, that I found walking in shops and searching for accessories to feel like work, and I didn’t have time for that.

However, what she didn’t know was that I loved eating out more than I love shopping. That was my weakness. I especiallyloved dining on weekends and that spending habit quickly started eating at my purse. Good food and takeaways are expensive.

This weekend, I started tracking my expenses again after a lapse of almost six months. Trying to do it manually in a little book doesn't work for me, so I found myself going back to my Pocket Expense app on my phone and iPad.

This is what it looks like so far:

                                                            Tracking weekly expenses

I know tracking my expenses will tell me where my money goes in a week and then in a month.

The guy in the video below, dreams of buying a car (like many of us do) and he has a choice to either indulge in snacks and coffee or save that money towards his dream. He obviously makes a wise choice and pockets the money for almost three months. In this time he has saved enough to drive off in his dream car. You know what the best part is? That could be you or me. I know I can do with a new car.

You should start tracking your expenses too. It’s not something to put off for later because time is money and time wasted can never be recovered. Your dream is always attainable and it will start with little steps of saving.

The savings campaign by Barclays will help you with useful savings tips and ideas.

This article is the second in a series of sponsored posts for the BARCLAYS SAVINGS CHALLENGE. I hope the challenge has been as interesting for you as it has been for me. You can follow the discussion on Twitter and Facebook and share your own experience by using the hashtag #AFRICASAVES.

Visit  https://goo.gl/9QbbAf for useful savings calculators, tips and more information on savings accounts.

I was at the Ghana Garden & Flower Show last two weeks as a vendor for Storefoundry. Now, my strategy wasn’t to only pitch to prospective clients to sign up for their custom storefront but to also make some sales by selling Nm3daa. What is nm3daa, you ask?

This was the same question I got from many of the event visitors and buyers who came to my stand. I couldn’t believe my ears! And guess what they mistook nm3daa for. Asaanaa! 

“Is it Asaanaa?”

“No, it’s nm3daa,” came my reply. 

“Oh! I want Asaanaa.”

That was how the conversation went most of the time. It actually made me quite thirsty having to repeat the difference between Asaanaa and Nm3daa. 😅 Then there were those who were curious about what it was and donned on their adventurous palate caps to take a sip. 

“Hmmmmm…tastes like Malt.”

“Yep! It’s the African Malta Guiness. Asaanaa is the African Coca-Cola,” I responded and they would burst out with laughter!

Then there were those who knew the drink and bought 5 bottles to take home to family. 😍🖖🏾

At the end of my three-day nm3daa-selling project I couldn't wait to get some much-needed sleep and share about the difference between these two local drinks. The differences actually lies in their origin and the production process. 

Kuukuwa flexing with Nm3daa in a Mason Jar.

Asaana originates from the Volta Region and a few Ewe’s who came to the stand mentioned it to be Aliha but looking at comments on my Facebook post after posting this, it seems Aliha is also Nm3daa. So scratch the name Aliha. 

Asana is made from fermented corn dough water. According to my Nm3daa expert; the fermented corn dough is boiled and the water which rises above the mix is sieved off. Caramelised Sugar is then added to it. 

It is sold mostly in the markets which I guess is the reason why it’s more popular, by women who either carry huge calabashes which house the drink or sit behind knee-length tables with the same calabash placed atop. Giant ice cubes are placed in the drink to keep it chilled.

Asanaa. The instagrammers couldn't get enough! If it's nice buy it twice! #WWIM11GH #WWIM11 #makolamarket #Accra #mobilephotography #igersghana #drinks #localmarket #localdrink #drinksoninstagram

A photo posted by Naa Oyoo (@oyooquartey) on Mar 22, 2015 at 1:41pm PDT

  Asaanaa can be drunk with ice-cubes. The one thing about Asaana which i recently heard is that; the vendors of the drink usually add sugar or caramel to the drink because of the unending melting of the ice. That’s why you can buy Asaanaa and feel it’s too sugary or have a bitter aftertaste at the back of your throat. Not very healthy is it? The vendors for some time now add evaporated milk as an option when one wants to buy one. Now that I think of it, it was probably to hide the aftertaste of the caramel. 😂The drink is poured into a mini-rubber bag which back in the day was used to sell water (pure water sachets came to change this bag).

••LOCAL MALT WITH STRAW 😂😂🙌🙌GUYS❗️SHARED FROM: @oyooquartey #ghanaphotography ・・・
Asaana. A popular local drink made from corn. Tastes almost like Malta Guiness but without the gas. 😎. It's sold in giant gourds by the roadside in market areas like #Makola. #WWIM11GH #WWIM11 #photowalk #accra #igersghana

A photo posted by GH Photography (@ghanaphotography) on Mar 31, 2015 at 7:02am PDT

Nm3daa is made traditionally by the Ga’s and is popularly served at traditional weddings, naming ceremonies and funerals. It’s a common sight to see traditional rulers drink Nm3daa in calabashes at these events. Most traditional Ghanaian local drinks are drank in calabashes, think of Palmwine, Pito, Ntsinshinu, etc 

So if you haven’t been to a Ga funeral for example, then that could be one of the reasons why you may be missing out on knowing and appreciating Nm3daa. The production process in question is basically the boiling of corn sprouts with added sugar and a bit of salt which gives an interesting sweet and sour taste with the sweet being more noticeable. 

This is a photo of the corn sprouts ready to be boiled.

Unlike Asaanaa, ice cubes cannot be added to Nm3daa. It waters the drink down to an unpleasant level. The best way to drink nm3daa is to bottle it and keep it on ice or in the fridge for hot sunny days in the city. It can be quite filling almost like Malta Guiness and has a more velvety feel on the tongue. 

So there you have it. Clearer now? 🤓Personally, I would choose Nm3daa any day over Asaanaa after hearing how more sugar is added in throughout the day. We served Nm3daa to our guests during our wedding and trust me, it was the most popular drink for the day. The soda’s were left languishing in the freezer. 

P.S- Nm3daa in Ga means 'nut drink'. Asaanaa in Ga also means 'It is Tasted'. 😂

Which is your favourite? Nm3daa or Asaana. Do share in the comments below 🙂