Nana Akosua Addobea Launches Cocoa Kente To Honour Cocoa Farmers And Tetteh Quashie

It must be noted that the Youth engagement shall cover the replanting of Cocoa on a large stretch of reclaimed lands that were destroyed as a result of illegal mining throughout the country's forest sites.

In a groundbreaking effort to honour Tetteh Quashie and appreciate the meritorious contributions of Cocoa farmers, the Guantuahemea of Mampong-Akiapem, and founder of the Reviving Hopes of Okuapeman Youth Foundation, Nana Akosua Addobea has launched The Cocoa Kente Initiative.

The initiative not only seeks to honour Tetteh Quashie and Cocoa farmers but to educate the youth of Mampong-Akuapem to appreciate their Cocoa heritage. It aims at educating the youth who intend to visit all farms within the Mampong-Akiapem catchment area to transfer the same information to cocoa farmers.

It envisages that the Youth to contribute their quota in reviving interest in Ghana's two main heritages - Cocoa and Kente.

In a short launching ceremony held at the BKQ studio in Accra on Friday, November 15, 2024, Guantuahemea highlighted the significant contributions of cocoa towards the Ghanaian economy, pointing to the fact that the first *Cocoa Plantation* in Ghana and for that matter the world was established in Mampong-Akuapem.

In recounting the trajectory of the initiative, Nana Akosua Addobea paid glowing tribute to former President John Agyekum Kufuor and his government for the steps they took to honour Tetteh Quashie by establishing an additional monumental Cocoa farm as The Jubilee Cocoa Farm at Mampong-Akuapem. This was in recognition for the meritorious roles played by Akuapem-Mampong as the cradle of the cocoa industry in Ghana. She adds, following this, "Reviving Hopes of Okuapeman Youth Foundation is embarking The Cocoa Kente drive to add a new impetus to Prez J. A. Kufuor's efforts", Nana Addobea added.

The Cocoa Kente Cloth will serve as an iconic addition to the vibrant Kente industry, symbolizing the royalty of cocoa production and its related processes. It will be meticulously designed to honour the entire Cocoa value chain, motivate youth participation in Cocoa farming, and promote cocoa consumption as a staple
food in Ghana.

Akuapem-Mampong, a town in the Akuapim North district of the Eastern Region of Ghana is often referred to as the cradle of the Cocoa Industry in Ghana, has an illustrious history deeply intertwined with cocoa cultivation and it's processing.

The region boasts of several key Cocoa-related establishments, including The Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Museum, Jubilee Cocoa Farm, Tetteh Quarshie Organic Cocoa Production line, and aTetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital. In recognition of its significance, it was designated as a National Tourism Destination by the Ministry of Tourism in 2017.

Workshops shall commence in earnest to train the youth to develop an interest in Cocoa farming and the processing of Cocoa into edible or staple foods like chocolate drinks, bars, bread and other confectionaries to be consumed locally and for export.Ambrose Washman/