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In a groundbreaking effort to honour Tetteh Quashie and appreciate the meritorious contributions of Cocoa farmers, the Guantuahemea of Mampong-Akuapem, and founder of the Reviving Hopes of Okuapeman Youth Foundation, Nana Akosua Addobea has launched The Cocoa Kente Initiative.
The initiative not only seeks to honour Tetteh Quashie and Cocoa farmers, but to educate the youth of Mampong-Akuapem to appreciate their Cocoa heritage. It aims at educating the youth who would intend visit all farms within Mampong-Akuapem catchment area to transfer same knowledge to cocoa farmers.
It envisages to encourage the youth to contribute their quota in reviving interest in Ghana’s two main heritages – Cocoa and Kente.
In a short launching ceremony held at the BKQ studio in Accra on Friday, November 15, 2024, Guantuahemea highlighted the significant contributions of cocoa towards the Ghanaian economy, pointing to the fact that the first Cocoa Plantation in Ghana and for that matter the world was established in Mampong-Akuapem.
In recounting the trajectory of the initiative, Nana Akosua Addobea paid glowing tribute to former President John Agyekum Kufuor and his government for the steps they took to honour Tetteh Quashie by establishing an additional monumental Cocoa farm as The Jubilee Cocoa Farm at Mampong-Akuapem. This was in recognition for the meritorious roles played by Akuapem-Mampong as the cradle of the cocoa industry in Ghana. She adds, following from this, “Reviving Hopes of Okuapeman Youth Foundation is embarking on The Cocoa Kente drive to add new impetus to Prez J. A. Kufuor’s efforts”, Nana Addobea noted.
Akuapem-Mampong Guantuahemea bemoaned the destructive nature of galamsey and it’s consequent impact on cocoa yield. To this, she passionately appealed to Ghanaians especially those on galamsey areas to focus on planting cocoa on galamsey lands, along water bodies, give ourselves a little time and reap the benefits thereoff including getting good water to rely on.
The Cocoa Kente Cloth will serve as an iconic addition to the vibrant Kente industry, symbolizing the royalty of cocoa production and its related processes. It will be meticulously designed to honour the entire Cocoa value chain, motivate youth participation in Cocoa farming, and promote cocoa consumption as a staple food in Ghana.
Akuapem-Mampong, a town in the Akuapim North District of the Eastern Region of Ghana, is often referred to as the cradle of the Cocoa Industry in Ghana, has an illustrious history deeply intertwined with cocoa cultivation and it’s processing.The region boasts of several key Cocoa-related establishments, including The Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Museum, Jubilee Cocoa Farm, Tetteh Quarshie Organic Cocoa Production line, and the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital. In recognition of its significance, it was designated as a National Tourism Destination by the Ministry of Tourism in 2017.
“Workshops shall begin in earnest to train the youth to develop interest in Cocoa farming and the processing of Cocoa into edible or staple foods like chocolate drinks, bars, bread and other confectionaries to be consumed both locally and for export”, she concluded.
