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Elmina in Ghana and I Touched the Lives of Many on the Way

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Elmina in Ghana and I Touched the Lives of Many on the Way Building on the past to create a better future E l m This book tells the story of a truly unique project that transformed the historic town of Elmina in Ghana and i touched the lives of many on the way. n a ELMINA Elmina was once the location of choice for European B merchants looking for business opportunities along the u th i West African coast. Up to the 19 century it was an im- l d portant commercial hub in a vast trading network, yet i Building on the past to create n in more recent years Elmina gradually lost importance. g The town that was once the capital of the Gold Coast o returned to its roots mainly relying on the fishing in- n a better future dustry for income; the buildings left to tell the stories t of the past. h e p It was at the eve of the 300-year celebrations of diplo - a s matic relations between Ghana and the Europeans that t the idea was born to use the mutual heritage as an entry t o point for a comprehensive upgrading exercise of the c town to improve local living conditions. The project r e went beyond restoring monuments, looking at the en- a t vironment, involving the people and boosting the local e economy. a b This book shows the results of the project through the e t eyes of the target group: the Elminians. They proudly t e show the monuments and merchant houses restored r f to their former glory and tell how the project impacted u the town and their lives. t u r e ISBN 978-9068326147 9 789068 326147 1 2519.BW.Elmina.1.1-49.test 15-04-2008 00:16 Pagina 1 ELMINA Building on the past to create a better future 2519.BW.Elmina.1.1-49.test 15-04-2008 00:16 Pagina 2 Colofon KIT Publishers BV Editor-in-Chief: Ester van Steekelenburg, Urban Solutions, Contents Mauritskade 63 Rotterdam, The Netherlands P.O. Box 95001 1090 HA Amsterdam Production in Ghana: Judith Lekkerkerker, Urban Solutions, The Netherlands Rotterdam, The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kit.nl/publishers Interviewing: Stratcomm Africa, Accra, Ghana Part I : The Elmina 2015 Strategy 6 © 2008 KIT Publishers BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Government Photography: Portraits and photos of completed projects by Nana of Ghana represented by the National Authorizing Officer, Ministry Kofi Acquah, Accra, Ghana. All other photos by Urban Solutions. Part II : Elmina Before-After 48 of Finance & Economic Planning, Accra, Ghana Logistical Support: Anthony Annan-Prah, Nana Ekua Viala and Josephine Akoto-Bamfo Part III: Elmina Portraits 100 Design: Studio Wil Agaatsz BNO, Meppel, The Netherlands Text editing: Stewart Brierley, The Netherlands Printing: High Trade, Zwolle, The Netherlands Implementing agencies: KEEA District Assembly, Elmina, Ghana & Urban Solutions, Rotterdam, the Netherlands This book was financially supported by the European Commission. www.urban-solutions.nl USrban olutions 2519.BW.Elmina.1.1-49.test 15-04-2008 00:16 Pagina 4 Foreword This book on the Cultural Heritage and Local Economic investors are showing interest and shops, hotels and even a Development project in Elmina aims at showcasing the results clinic have already opened in some of the renovated histori- of a successful development cooperation project in Africa built cal houses. on the economic use of cultural heritage. However, renovating a monumental building or site is not enough. It should go hand in hand with building the Ghana celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence capacity of the people. Monuments and historical sites should in 2007 but the history of Ghana is much older and Elmina is therefore not be considered as separate entities but as parts of an important part of it. The castles and forts are not only a re- the larger environment. Indeed, the European Commission minder of Ghana’s past trade links with Europe and a legacy of would have missed an important objective without investing its colonial past, they also represent a symbol of the slave trade in the most precious resource of Elmina: its people. This is and as such, form a beacon to the Diaspora of the descendants why within this project tourist guides, artisans and small scale of West-African slaves. It was not easy to intervene in Elmina, entrepreneurs were trained in various fields, including in a place so marked by its complex history, but the chosen inno- financial management. vative approach “building on the past to create a better future” Whilst reading the book you will no doubt compare the was a very interesting one: acknowledging the past without pictures taken three years ago with the impressive achieve- ignoring the future and linking culture with economic deve- ments of the project so far. You will also find lively testimo- lopment to improve the lives of the people of Elmina. nies from Elminian citizens to which the project brought tangi- Recognising the importance of cultural heritage and its ble benefits and even changed their life. Indeed, we should potential role for local economic development, in 2004 the not forget that the continuous success of the project is now in European Commission agreed to support the project with al- the hands of the people of Elmina. most 2 million Euros, funded through the 9th European Deve- I believe that this publication will provide visitors from lopment Fund. The Elmina Cultural Heritage and Manage- all shores with a “taste” of Elmina and the desire to explore the ment Programme was established after extensive consultations beauty of this fascinating city. with the local population and followed an integrated ap- proach. While aiming at improving the living conditions of the people in Elmina, renovation of the sites and buildings of historical importance was also intended to increase the town’s Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi tourism potential and encourage tourists to visit Elmina, to Head of the European Commission Delegation in Ghana stay longer and to spend more. This should generate more revenue, create jobs and therefore reduce the existing poverty of the residents. And this process has already started, since 4 5 2519.BW.Elmina.1.1-49.test 15-04-2008 00:16 Pagina 6 Part I The Elmina 2015 Strategy 7 2519.BW.Elmina.1.1-49.test 15-04-2008 00:16 Pagina 8 This is Elmina regularly sent to the Netherlands for education. The Dutch also took advantage of the local Edina Bronya festival to iron out difficulties in their trade and relationship with the local authorities. Because of this Edina Bronya is also referred to as ‘Dutch Christmas’ and is still celebrated on the first Thursday Elmina is one of Ghana’s most famous historic towns. Its of every New Year. strategic location made it the heart of the West African gold The Dutch abandoned the shameful slave trade in 1814 trade in the 16th century. The name Elmina is derived from the and in 1872 they sold their possessions on the Gold Coast to Portuguese ‘La Mina’ meaning ‘the Mine’. The impressive the British in exchange for the rights to Bengkulu on Sumatra, castle of St. George ‘d Elmina dates back to 1482 and yet holds Indonesia. One year later, Elmina town was bombarded in a the status of Africa’s oldest European building. When the decisive response by the British to the refusal of the King of Dutch took control of Elmina in 1637, they followed the Portu- Elmina to accept the new rule. Accra became the centre of the guese example of establishing their Gold Coast headquarters British colonial administration and in the years that followed at the Castle and expanded it to its present form, making it many people left Elmina. one of the country’s most prominent buildings. Little development has taken place since those days. Originally, the European commercial interest was in gold, Elmina’s population numbers 20,000, only a handful more than pepper and ivory. By the end of the 17th century, a new type in the mid 19th century. The town that was once the capital of of trade was established on the Gold Coast: the trade in slaves the Gold Coast returned to its roots with the fishing industry for the plantations in the Americas. Elmina became an impor- again supplying the main source of income. tant distribution point for these slaves, which were brought Ironically, the absence of development on a significant from the hinterland. The Castle was turned into a temporary scale is why the historic centre of the town is still largely intact; prison for many thousands of slaves. The slave trade, which displaying a wealth of evidence of Elmina’s illustrious past. lasted until the early 19th century, still marks a dark spot in Elmina Castle and Fort, the two UNESCO listed world heritage the history of many European countries and Ghana. sites, featuring prominently in the itinerary of every visitor to All through the 15th to 19th centuries, Elmina thrived on Ghana, attract around 100,000 visitors a year. a host of economic activities. In addition to the evident fishing Yet Elmina did not take advantage of the ever increasing and food production, a service industry also developed, offe- stream of tourists. The surroundings of the castle were not ring transport, security and storage facilities. The population attractive for tourists. Harassment by the youth ensured that of Elmina grew from several hundred people at the arrival of only the persistent traveller ventured into town. The historic the Portuguese in the 15th century to roughly 20,000 in the houses in the town showed their age and there was a sheer mid-19th century.
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