Nzulenzu, Ghana

2019-04-19. Village on stilts !

The small village of Beyin is the main tourist attraction on the west coast of Ghana. This is probably due to the stilt village of Nzulezo, a beautiful beach and the presence of the last fort built by the British on the Gold Coast.

Fort Apollonia:

Fort Apollonia renovated in the 50s, built in 1770 with the permission of the local chief. The name of the fort dates much longer from the beginning of the 17th century. It is a maritime fort mainly dedicated to the defense of the coast but which also had cells for the "storage" of the slaves. Its construction is very solid, it is assured until today, despite the damage suffered during the war between the British and the French and a long period of abandonment. After being transformed into an inn in the 70's it has now become a museum.
We arrive at the fort by the small streets of the village. We go around the back before presenting ourselves at the front door. The guided tour will cost us 30 Cedi. The explanations of our young guide, Jud, are very detailed and interesting although his English is not the best. He tells us about the 7 traditional families in the region, each with their own symbols and even their own dialect. He tells us about the festival which is held here every year in October, a big fresco describes the various stages and the different manifestations of this festival. And of course he showed us the cells where the slaves were held before their embarkation to the Americas.
 

Fort Apollonia

Part of the fresco in the fort

Chrurch in Beyin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stilts village:

We are preparing for the excursion to the lake village of Nzulezo. We register at the GWS office with Francis. After careful consideration we choose the rowing boat version at 50 Cedis per person instead of the ride in motorized canoe for 85 Cedis. It seems much more pleasant and, what is more, less expensive. Apparently, the tourists seem to choose the motorized canoes because for the rowing boats it is necessary to walk about twenty minutes on a dike of the wetland to reach the end of the channel where they are moored.

Walk along the channel

Our guide is called Stephen. It takes us to the end of the canal in about twenty minutes. We embark for a nice ride in the wetland by narrow channels in the middle of water lilies and rushes. In the middle of the afternoon, birds are rare. We dive into the secondary jungle by sneaking into dense tropical vegetation before reaching Lake Tadane.

In the jungle

Approaching the village

A lake of a little more than 2 km², two and a half kilometers north of Beyin. We go on a little less than 2km to the south-west shore of the lake to dock on a pontoon of the village of Nzulezo. The village is entirely built on stilts on both sides of a central aisle nearly 300 m long. The 7 traditional families are divided into the lanes perpendicular to the central alley. One of them extends occupied by the family of our guide who is himself from this village. The hygienic conditions in which the 850 inhabitants of the village live leave much to be desired, diseases and epidemics are very frequent.

Docking pontoon

The village, unique in its kind, is of course very picturesque. The animation is great and it is not easy to photograph because it is expressly asked not to take pictures with the inhabitants, which is easily understandable. We pass the church before arriving at the community center that tries to manage and develop the village. For the school built at the end of the village the state sends only 2 teachers. This is absolutely insufficient for more than 300 students. The community has hired 4 more,payed by itself. The community is also setting up a clinic and needs resources, donations are welcome. I must admit that I do not really like the method even if I understand the motivation. We paid our contribution with our ticket and that should be enough.

 
We pass the school installed at the end of the village, the 6 classes and the bungalows of the teachers. After the school, at the last end of the village, there are the public toilets, a fairly new facility, biological and modern. But so far from the houses of the village that we wonder if they are really used.

We walk the main street upside down in front of the small shop while Christine had bought a small bag of caterpillar palm grilling for a Cedis. We did not dare to taste it but the young people who surrounded us threw themselves on it, it is a delicacy apparently very popular with the natives.