Ntonso

Ntonso is where adinkra cloth is made, printed rather than woven: symbols carved into pieces of calabash are dipped in adinkra aduru, a thick black dye boiled down from badie tree bark and iron slag, and stamped in grids onto cotton. Each symbol carries a proverb or idea, gye nyame, sankofa, dwennimmen and dozens more, and the combination on a cloth conveys a message, historically much of it tied to mourning, since adinkra was worn at funerals. Workshops show the dye being boiled, the stamps being carved and the printing itself, and visitors stamp their own cloth to take away. Cloth and stamps are sold at the workshops.

What to look for

• Dye boiling - the badie bark reduced to adinkra aduru over a fire.
• Calabash stamps - the carved blocks and the symbols they carry.
• Stamping - the printing of the grid onto cotton cloth.
• Making your own - visitors stamping a piece to take away.

When to go

November to March in the dry season. Weekdays are when workshops are in full operation. Mornings are cooler; the dye fires make the working areas hot.

Practical notes

Visits are set up for tourists and end at the sales point. Fees cover the demonstration and a piece of cloth, with extras charged. Not all stages run every day. The site is small and takes under two hours.

Nearby

Bonwire and its kente looms lie southeast; Kumasi is south.

Key facts