2013 Kobine

festival food and

seed exhibition
Organized by
RUWFAG-NORTH
Center for Indigenous
Knowledge and Organizational
Development

Festivals are very important in several ways; Historically, Religiously, Socially, Economically,
Culturally, Morally and politically in the lives of Ghanaians. Festivals teach people about their
history.
Through festivals people affirm their belief in the existence of the ancestral spirit, hence they ask
for forgiveness of offencescommitted; petition the supernatural powers for material prosperity,
peace and long life. It serves as reunion of family members, relatives and love ones.
Festivals help to initiate development projects and to contribute financially towards these
projects. Visitors who also come to witness the festival contribute economically to the
locality.The rich cultural heritage of a people is usually being displayed during festivals.
Every year around October, the Kobine festival is celebrated in Lawra, Ghana. It serves as both a
harvest celebration and as a homecoming for people who have left Lawra. People come to Lawra
from all parts of Ghana and neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso to witness the festival.

The Rural Women Farmers Association of Ghana (RUWFAG) takes the opportunity to create
awareness about the importance of cultivating and consuming traditional or locally grown foods.
This is done through the exhibition of traditional foods and seeds.
RUWFAG is an association of women farmers from farm families which was established by
CIKOD to address issues of healthy food systems and food sovereignty.

RUWFAG engages in other activities like farming, livestock rearing, bead making, cloth
weaving, grain banking and savings for change as part of their livelihood activities to build their
capacity.

Food serves as an identity for a group of people and seedsare the basis of farming and
food production. Today, most seeds we use are hybrids and an increasing number are being
genetically modified to give crops resistance to common herbicides and pesticides.Unfortunately,
this genetic tinkering usually renders second generation seeds sterile, creating a cycle of
dependency by requiring farmers to continuously purchase seeds. This is what the exhibition by
RUWFAG seeks to address. RUWFAGs core mandate is to promote food sovereignty through
the we are the solution campaign.
The Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD) collaborates
with RUFAG as part of the we are the solution campaign to use the Kobine festival to educate
the public on the importance of consuming traditional foods. CIKOD does this by supporting
family farming through revitalizing indigenous seeds and knowledge on traditional farming
methods.
The goal of the exhibition is usually to promote health and food sovereignty in the Lawra
traditional area and the Upper West Region as a whole.
About seven women groups participated in the food fair.More than 30 traditional/local dishes
including drinks were exhibited. Also on display were traditional seed from which these foods
were prepared, and beads and cloths produced by the women. The women divided themselves
into groups to handle recipes from different food stuffs such as rice meals, maize meals moringa
dishes, beans and many more. These are locally sourced products grown from the womens own

farms. Dishes of interest were; Gyogyo prepared from different vegetables, Tangbo Sewelle,
Kenkey from Sorghum, Belebele, Moringa rice among others.
During the exhibition, women were interviewed by a journalist and they readily shared how
these foods were prepared and the benefits of consuming these local foods. These tapes will be
aired later at radio Upper West for the hearing of the general public. On the climax of the
festival, the dignitaries took time to visit the stand of this food exhibition despite the tight
program. This was led by the Deputy Regional Minister and other dignitaries that were present.
They numbered more than one hundred persons and some did eat the food to know how it tastes.
Many people were particularly excited because they were trying some indigenous foods for the
very first time. Others took time to look through the beads and cloths and purchased some.
Others engaged the women in questioning them how to prepare traditional foods.
The women confessed that, in typical traditional homes, it is the nutrients from these traditional
foods that keep the children especially growing healthy otherwise, malnutrition level would have
been very high.
In general, the objectives of the exhibition were met. One could see a sense of fulfillment from
the women groups because they felt so important to have the dignitaries come around to see what
they had to offer for the development of their area. It serves as an encouragement for them to go
back and achieve even more.
The challenge for the women was how to organize and present themselves at this festival and to
have their voices head. This placed a lot of burden on just a few of the executives to handle
logistics towards the exhibition. CIKOD continues to render her support to these women in
programs that can build their capacity.