By Jones Anlimah
The chiefs and people of Avatime in the Ho West District of the Volta Region have celebrated their annual Amu Festival, also known as the Brown Rice Festival, at Avatime Gbadzeme, with a focus on climate resilience and community development.
The Paramount Chief of Avatime, Osie Adza Tekpor VII, called for unity of purpose among all Avatime communities, noting that it is the only way Avatime can harness the strength of its heritage and overcome the challenges they face as communities.
The theme for the 2024 Amufest was “Sustaining Avatime as a Climate-Resilient Community through Brown Rice Production, Culture, and Eco-Tourism.”
Avatime has attractive tourist sites, including Mountain Gemi, the Ote Waterfalls at Avatime Amedzofe and Gbadzeme, a canopy walkway, and Mountain Gayi at Avatime Vane. Other attractions include ancestral stones and caves at Biakpa.
The area is also known for the cultivation of brown rice. The vibrant festival showcased the cultural heritage of the Avatime people while underscoring the importance of eco-friendly practices and sustainable community development.
The chief of Avatime Gbadzeme, Okusie Okorforobuor Agyemang VII, highlighted the community’s tourism potential, due to its beautiful landscapes and unique cultural heritage. He, however, called for improvements in road networks leading to the community.
“Avatime Gbadzeme is a community rich in agricultural tradition and blessed with exceptional tourism potential. Alongside our breathtaking mountain landscapes and refreshing climate, we offer tourists a variety of attractions, including waterfalls, historical sites, and diverse exotic flora and fauna,” he said.
Okusie Okorforobuor added, “However, we continue to face challenges, particularly with our road infrastructure, which hinders access to these unique experiences we wish to share with Ghana and the world.”
The Paramount Chief of Avatime, Osie Adza Tekpor VII, in a statement read on his behalf by the chief of Avatime Dzokpe, Okusie Kpornuglo X, emphasized that brown rice production and eco-tourism can serve as pillars of the local economy if given the needed attention. He called on local and national leaders to recognize the value of the region’s cultural and ecological assets and urged them to support the community’s efforts to sustain its environment and boost the economy.
He also expressed concern about the division creeping into certain communities in Avatime and called for unity of purpose. “I wish to emphasize that the bond of unity and diversity we yearn for, as well as our quest for sustainable growth and development, as illustrated in the theme, can only thrive in an environment of peace and harmony. We should not succumb to or fall prey to the deceptions and influences of a few individuals, nor allow ourselves to fall victim to needless adversities, cynicism, and disputes for the selfish gains of troublemakers,” he noted.
Former Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Honourable Edward Doe Adjaho, commended the Avatime community’s focus on sustainable agriculture and eco-tourism. He encouraged the chiefs and people of Avatime to vote for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), highlighting the party’s commitment to infrastructure development, which he argued would directly benefit the Avatime area.
“It’s the hope of His Excellency, the former president, that the 7 December 2024 elections will be conducted in peace. But we have to be vigilant to protect our ballot; we have to be vigilant to make sure that events that occurred in the 2020 elections, which led to the loss of innocent lives, will not happen again. I therefore urge you to do the needful and vote for the NDC to secure the future of the country,” former Speaker Adjaho said.
There were exhibitions of assorted food prepared using locally grown brown rice at the durbar, which climaxed a series of activities to celebrate this year’s Amufest.