Seasons

The dry season is a time for building. A family- typically the male head of household- will first buy a plot of land. Gradually one room, then another will be built, additions made as money allows and the needs of a growing extended family have to be met. The owner is free to build and develop as he sees fit within his land boundary.

Bricks are hand made uses a simple mold, from concrete and sand, then watered daily as they dry.

Making the building materials- blocks are increasingly used in construction, then finished with a covering of mixed sand and clay. (photo-internet)

A neighbour stands by her newly made bricks- later the family compound will be extended.

While some families hire a "mason" to build, others use their own skills to add new rooms. This extension was completed a week later, when the zinc sheet roofing was added.

This grain store is made using local clay and sand- the prepared balls of clay are passed and then smoothed and molded into place.

And now, as May runs towards June, and occasional showers become more frequent, the time for soil preparation has come. This weekend, I saw, as I travelled from Zebilla to Bolgatanga, men, women and children tilling plots near to homes, preparing drills and planting seeds collected from the previous harvest.

Subsistence farming- family plots are cultivated, using basic tools  and time honoured methods- as long as the rains come, followed by hot sun to ripen, a harvest will yield enough to keep the family fed for the year.