A year ago I met a couple Spanish nationals looking for long term accommodations, while they worked on a project in a little village in the mountains, called Tutu.  Once they secured a place I took greater interest in their project, trying to overstand why these young people would take a year out of their lives to help build Africa.  What I learned is that there are people who are sincerely willing to apply their knowledge and time, even money, in an effort to share the much that they were blessed with.  Here, I found such a team of two women and one man, Nuria, Waria and Ivan, whose sole objective was to empower the community by empowering their women.

Taking into consideration the large amount of buildings going up in Ghana, they decided to manufacture kiln bricks. Kiln bricks are baked in fire which makes them much more durable in all weather conditions, resistant against biological agents such as bugs or fungus and much stronger than adobe or the commonly used cement (sand, because it is mostly sand) block.  One only has to take a brick, usually 1/5 the size of a cement block, and smash it against the block to see the difference.  There is no comparison. The raw material is locally available, the finished product offers home-builders with a viable, energy efficient alternative, and the overall cost of building with kiln bricks is comparable, though slightly more expense than building with the commonly used cement blocks. However, kiln bricks are much more solid, comfortable against the heat or rain, naturally beautiful in its raw form, and of course it lasts for ever if well built!.  But the clincher is that they trained women in the skill of brick baking (making) and gave them the necessary foundation from which to build a formidable company of their own.  The idea was to create a profitable enterprise, owned and operated by women and consistent with the demands of consumers in today's marketplace.  Furthermore, to create a working environment that considers the responsibilities of our African women thus limiting daily shifts to 4 hours, while providing a separate place for the children to be cared for while mothers work.  The result is TAW (Tutu-Akuapem Women, Bricks & Tiles).

Their first challenge came when securing land to host the project.  Though they were embarking upon a venture that would profit the women of the pending area, they encountered a fair amount of haggling over the price of land that should have been donated, without charge, for such a project.  Nevertheless, they agreed to the fees, accepted the terms and proceeded with the works.

In an effort to source all necessary ingredients locally, they insisted on having the machinery made in Ghana.  Even though they were encouraged to outsource major tools, they stuck to their resolve and found a local engineer to build to spec.  This provided many sleepless nights, as they received an instrument that took as much trouble to maintain as took to build, nevertheless, they gritted their teeth and ploughed on.  Though antiquated in appearance, they ended up with a fairly reliable tool.

Slowly, but surely, long after they were scheduled to leave Ghana, the project began to take form.  The oven was churning out bricks and a few orders started coming in.  Their first job was to make enough bricks to build their own office and work place.  This was done and the building completed, with each volunteer literally laying the bricks alongside the excited members of the community.  At the official launch the Chief of the village, the Spanish Ambassador and several other dignitaries appeared to applaud their efforts.  I was also amongst those in attendance because I too was proud of their efforts and glad to see the example.  Here were three young people who realized a need and pooled their resources to fill that need.  Aside from the accolades, their real reward was simply the satisfaction they got from creating an alternative for a few women in an unknown village, who may now be able to dream outside the box.   They weren’t trading bibles for land, nor conning villagers into any other form of dependence, rather they fostered self-sufficiency by teaching skills and providing the means for the community to continue to works.   Once the project had reached the point to where they had employed the necessary personnel and all the equipment was operating optimally, the project was turned over to the women of village, for them to take their future in their own hands.

Six months after their departure, the brick factory is bubbling and the women are working.  The project has continued and the people are now enjoying the fruit of an industry that didn’t exist to them before.  I use this example as a model for those with knowledge and skills that can be offered towards the development of Africa.   Ask not what Africa can do for you, but what you can do for Africa?