Ghana National Gas Company has handed over the Ketu South Craft Village to the community.
The craft village is to train women and, at the same time, serve as a market centre for locally produced handicrafts and merchandise of all kinds and to attract buyers from all over the Volta Region.
It will also promote and help local manufacturers and artisans to produce more and better quality to generate revenue for the women and everyone as a whole in the Ketu South municipality.
The skills the women will acquire will also contribute to life-changing stories in the Ketu South Municipality.
One of the beneficiaries, who acquired the needed skills in bead making, is looking to use her skills to train a lot of women in the municipality.
“Women entrepreneurship is something that has come to stay and everyone that supports the dream of a woman having something to do is a blessing to the land, not only a blessing to Ghana but also to Ketu South municipality,” she said.
“When you see this place, Aflao, is a border town and mostly you see our woman, they always want to do something that can fetch them quick money since they also want to push their children’s education so anything, a Ketu South woman will do.”
According to the women in the community, the craft village has come to change their stories as it will be the key place for them. Hitherto, they said, a woman can only go and get money at the border either to sell water or food.
The craft village has come for women to use their hands to do something meaningful.
“One can take a few seed-bead and just sit at the comfort of your home to create something beautiful and sell out to anyone to get an income to support yourself,” they said in excitement.
“We have seen the passion and seriousness that women are putting in towards learning handicraft to cater for themselves.
“We believe in women empowerment and everywhere we go and see women trying to support each other to be able to have something to do with their hands, then we’re good to go.”
Delphine Dogbegah, a board member of Ghana Gas, was of the view that the craft village can serve as a tourist attraction at all times in Ketu South.
“People can just walk in to pick up some beautiful beads, even our chiefs, to avoid going to far places to buy beads.”
The Ketu South and Aflao Craft Village will promote and enable artisans live and work at the same place and are also provided with the opportunity to sell their products, thereby enhancing livelihood.