Day 7 - Ghana's National Friday Wear programme

On Friday, November 12, 2004, the Ghana Ministry of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) launched the National Friday Wear programme aimed at promoting Made-in-Ghana prints and revitalizing the textiles and garments in Ghana.  On Monday through Thursday of each week, the dress in the Ghanian business offices is very similar to what we see in North America - perhaps even a bit more formal as many of the men wear shirt and tie and the women wear blazer and skirts.  However each Friday, the business workers dress in traditional Ghanian wear.

We solicited the assistance of our ECG collegues to help our team members observe their custom with them.  They were more than willing. 

First activity was measurements.  Our ECG collegues arranged for a local dress maker to come and take measurements for the female team members.   If you can picture all of us in business suits, heads down deep in workshops and presentation preparation, and having that meeting being put on hold so we could be led into a nearby office so that a dressmaker could take our measurments.  It was quite surreal actually.  The dressmaker had a number of pre-made dresses available for trying on.




Getting measured



Trying on Ghanian dresswear

Next came a visit to the local fabric shop. As were were not able to walk the distance between the office and the fabric shop, the ECG corporate verhicles, along with their drivers, were commissioned to take us to Woodins so we could shop for fabric.  I think I will always remember the sights of 2 official-looking Electrical Company of Ghana vehicles pulling up in front of a local fabric store and 4 women, in business suits, all piling out of the cars and heading inside. 

We each chose our fabric and gave the fabric to Enonam, our ECG collegue, to take back to the dressmaker.

Lastly, we had to choose the pattern.  This activity occurred a day or two after the fabric was selected.  Enyonam arrived with large poster-size "pattern".  Again, the businss meeting that was in flight was interuupted abruptly, while the women all huddled over "Kabba and slit" paterns.  It was tremendous fun - except perhaps for our 2 male team members who for some reason did not seem to be enjoying all these dressmaking activies as much as the females were! 

June selecting a Kabba and Slit pattern

It is too soon to hope that we would have our Ghanian dresses ready by today - however we are anxiously waiting for their arrival in time for National Friday Wear Day next week.