FOR many years, beads have become attractive ornaments used by almost every culture in the world, thus being considered as one of the greatest tourist attractions in areas where they abound.
Being small, round objects made of wood, shell, bone, seed, metal, stone, glass or plastic, beads are usually worn for decorative purposes, especially to proudly express one’s cultural and ethnic background; it is a symbolic embodiment of curative power in some cultures.
As a cultural heritage, beads are not only used as adornment, but also to express a religious belief as done by some tribes such as the Krobos, the Ewes, the Guans, the Akuapems, the Akyems and the Akans in general, who are the dominant tribes in the Eastern Region.
Therefore, the exciting renaissance of beads craftsmanship taking place today has made them become a source of livelihood for hundreds of people of all ages.
Additionally, the adorning nature of the ornaments has made them gain enormous economic potential as they have now become one of the most tourist attractions in the region besides the Akosombo Dam, the Kwahu Mountains, the Volta Lake, the Aburi Botanical Gardens and the numerous beautiful waterfalls such as the Boti Falls.
As a further illustration, especially in Koforidua, there is no particular day in the region which attracts tourists to the area than Thursdays, which is a market day when more than 300 traders dealing in the commodity display their wares at a temporary marketplace — the Jackson Park.
Foreign tourists, who mostly patronise the items on such days, are often dazzled at their striking beauty and charming appearances, a visit to the beads market has often revealed.
However, in spite of the huge economic potential of beads to earn the country foreign exchange and provide employment avenues for its people, lack of a permanent market to enable craftsmen and women to exhibit their products in the Eastern Region has been non-existent.
This unfortunate situation is seriously hampering efforts to increase high patronage of beads in the region, where local materials are easily obtained to produce the commodity.
Unlike in the past, where beads producers and retailers in the region were allowed to display their wares at the Koforidua Central Market, which ensured a high patronage, their temporary relocation to the Jackson Park has posed a serious threat to the business.
This situation is gradually taking away the livelihood of hundreds of people, the majority who travel from Somanya, Krobo-Odumase and other districts to Koforidua on every Thursday with their wares to carry out their business activities.
This kind of development needs immediate attention in order not to kill the interest of the people in the beads trade.
Currently, the temporary relocation of beads traders to the Jackson Park has placed their fate at the mercy of public events and the weather.
Any time the park is to be used as a venue for any public event, the traders are prevented from using the place to sell their wares.
Additionally, business activities on the park, on a market day, almost comes to a halt whenever there is a heavy downpour, which causes the traders to run helter-skelter to protect their wares from destruction.
Most of the traders who shared their concerns with the Daily Graphic stated that the allocation of a permanent market would ensure a high patronage of the products and increase foreign tourists’ visit to the region, which would also boost the economy in the area.
“We are constantly faced with fears of being asked to relocate anytime by the New Juaben Municipal Assembly which controls the Jackson Park,” said an 84-year-old beads seller, Madam Ama Donkor from Somanya.
“We live in perpetual fear that we might be asked to vacate the premises permanently, and this will definitely end the source of livelihood for most of us,” said Madam Joyce Tetteh, a 72-year-old beads seller from Krobo Odumase.
The fears of the two aged beads sellers were also shared by many of their counterparts, including the Chairman of the Beads Sellers Association in the region, Mr Alhassan Mohammed.
He said, “Besides the rains disrupting our business, moving our products to and from the temporary marketplace is costly and cumbersome”.
“A trade that has been in existence and has been a major check to rural-urban migration for so many generations is at risk of dying off if no steps are taken to rectify the situation,” he added.
In their view, allocation of a permanent market by the New Juaben Municipal Assembly would “ensure maximum patronage of beads from the public, leading to an increase in sales and expansion of our business”.
It is for these reasons that intervention by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, to assist the association to secure a permanent market at the Centre for National Culture in Koforidua came as welcome news.
The permanent market would enable the traders to exhibit their commodities in a conducive environment which would ensure increased patronage of the products by both local and international tourists.
It is believed that that would, in the long term, make Koforidua in particular and the region in general favourable tourism destinations locally and internationally.
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