Powder glass bead making in Ghana is a unique craft practised only in a handful of villages close to Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti, and others in the Krobo traditional area near Koforidua, close to the southern end of Lake Volta.
The beadmakers in the video above are using recycled plastic. They used to make the beads over open fires breathing in fumes as you can see. With help from tour guests and One World Hull we have now installed a raised workbench with fume extraction system so they can work more safely.
The process uses recycled glass from broken bottles, ground into a fine powder, mixed with dyes, and built up in complex patterns in clay moulds. Use of different moulds, dyes, and patterning techniques produces a wide variety of designs.
The beads are then fired in a wood-burning kiln for up to eight hours. Finally they are shaped and polished.
Here are some notes and sketches by tour guest Christine, covering the different methods used in the villages and workshops we visit on tour – Oklah workshop Text, Obewale Text, Abompe Text, Dabaa beads text, Hausa Bead workshop Text
Our workshops are carried out in the village of Dabaa with Michael Asumadu and his family. You can see Powder Glass Bead Making and try it for yourself on a Ghana Ashanti Crafts Tour.
