We explore the local bamboo resources and visit a bamboo farm near Chira, about two hours’ drive from the project site.

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We meet the head of the “International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation” (INBAR) in Ghana and sign an agreement on further cooperation.

After a long search for a suitable plot of land for the bamboo training centre, we were able to acquire two plots at the end of November. The new project site is located in the small rural village of Wuraso and is ideally suited for the construction project.

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Our third board member, Christoph Brummelte, is also heading to Ghana for a three-week visit. In the south of the country, we visit the Hadwua Arts and Culture Institute in Apam together. The impressive bamboo structure was built in 2015 by an interdisciplinary group of students from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, in collaboration with performing arts students at the University of Ghana.

The first inspection of the project site in Fiaso unfortunately brings the realisation that the land is much smaller than assumed. There has been confusion here in the past between the units of measurement feet and metres. In addition, the land is difficult to access and has a steep slope, which is unfavourable for the planned development. However, the Fiaso land is perfectly suited for bamboo cultivation courses! We will have to look for a new site for the construction of the training centre.

Fiaso, Ghana
7.5851710, -1.8185680
7°35’06.6″N 1°49’06.8″W
https://goo.gl/maps/XBV5kUmAFjv2zcjb6

Plot dimensions
Feet: 171.1 x 91.6 x 169.0 x 91.2
Metre: 52,13 x 27,92 x 51,51 x 27,80

Rabea Schürmann and Johanna Liekmeyer travel to Ghana at their own expense for their foreign assignment of several months. In their home there, they conduct their first experiments with bamboo. In the process, they quickly encounter the dreaded “powder post beetle”, which likes to turn untreated bamboo into dust.

Rabea Schürmann takes part in “The Bamboo U Online Immersion”, a comprehensive course on bamboo. As part of the course, she begins working with Federico Antonelli, a young, ambitious architect (MArch) from Italy who has made sustainability the guiding principle of his professional career. In the module “Bamboo Model Making”, ideas and designs are created for the workshop and seminar area, as well as the treatment facilities for the bamboo training centre in Ghana.

Our Project coordinator Wilfred Dery participated in the Inter-Africa Ghana Bamboo Study Tour (26th – 30th April, 2021).