Not to be found on our map of West Africa or in our guide book Jachie is a place that could be easily missed. We were lucky enough to discover its charm, thanks to our friend Kofi. We had met Kofi on The Green Ranch on Lake Bosumtwi where he works and instantly hit it off. With an excellent sense of humour, a mutual love of reggae and an introduction to bolfrot (local doughnut treat) we knew we had the basis for a great friendship. When he invited us to his home town we could not have been more pleased.
Jachie does not necessarily have a lot to offer the sight-seeing tourist however for any wanderer who wants to discover the goings on of daily life in a small Ghanaian town it is an excellent place to spend a couple of days. The town lies on the busy road that connects Kumasi to Lake Bosumtwi, and is the perfect meeting point of modern lifestyles and rural Ghana. The constant to-ing a fro-ing of tro-tro’s (local buses) means that both the lake and the city are easily accessible and Jachie has become a thriving commuter town.
The main drag runs off the Kumasi road and with more pedestrians than cars is the heart of town life. There is an essence of the wild west here as the sun beats down on this wide and dusty road. The central parade is the place to see and be seen, the inhabitants of Jachie stroll and strut back and forth making the strip a hotbed for small town gossip. Crumbling porches, rusty tin roofs and an abundance of bars gives the impression that at any moment the swinging of saloon doors and the jangling of spurs might signal the beginning of a show-down.
Although we enjoyed many a perambulation through the town we did not meet any cowboys! We did however meet what felt like the whole population as Kofi introduced us to his mother, his brothers, his sisters, aunties, uncles, grandparents, nephews, nieces, neighbours and friends. Having worked with Kofi it was superb to see him relaxed and on home turf. He really made us feel like guests of honour as he showed us every inch of his home town and we hand-shook our way through the back streets along with an entourage of children and a drunk old man. It was a pleasure to be so thoroughly introduced to everybody and the sense of welcome was genuinely touching. I/Harry even found my African Grandma Cynthia!
Once off the main street the roads are narrow and people live in compounds along with extended family or neighbours. Noise, washing and wood-smoke means space or privacy seems scarce and any argument would soon be everybody’s business! It is clear however that a strong sense of community ties the compounds together and people rely heavily on one another. Football pitches can be found wherever there is enough space and they are always over-run with kids yelling, laughing and enjoying the freedom of growing up in Jachie. One of our favourite sights in Jachie was seeing the naughty kids at school in detention. Their job was to cut the grass on the playground with machetes! Can you imagine the same punishment being handed out in Hackney?!
After leading us through the town Kofi and his brothers took us to the top of the central road where the shops and houses give way to fields of jungle greenery. At the zenith of Jachie panoramic views of what is actually quite a big town can be seen and this is a perfect place for chilling. They call it the ‘ghetto’ however being so pretty and tranquil it is unlikely to ever turn up as a setting on Grand Theft Auto, a game enjoyed by young boys even here! You can find them playing in Jachie’s computer room which is run by the charity TACCO and offers ICT lessons as well as free internet).
One final bolfrot marked the end of our time with Kofi, an absolute legend and general cool guy we were sad to say goodbye to such a great new friend. Hanging out with someone our own age and being shown round the town he grew up in was an excellent way of getting to know Ghana. For anyone with a couple of days to spare stopping off in the small town of Jachie would be well worth your while. With all the advantages of urban living but none of the hassle it is a great place to stop and appreciate everyday life in this region. We think Jachie deserves a place on the West African map and we are happy we got the chance to put it on ours!
