Djorbuah Teye Ogbonu is a powder glass bead maker
Powder glass bead makers at Otrokper in the Upper Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region have appealed for loans, modern tools and a factory that would remove the arduous methods, make them effective and help them to produce to meet international standards.
About 40 bead makers are engaged in the laborious process of bead making in the community as a major source of livelihood with farming as an additional source of earning for them.
Together with their wives and children, the craftsmen are able to eke out a living, making and supplying the product to various customers in different parts of the Eastern Region.
50-year-old Djorbuah Teye Ogbonu is a powder glass bead maker in Otrokper. Having been in the businesses for the past 30 years, the father of nine undertakes the arduous labour with his wife with assistance from his children.
With proceeds from the bead business barely enough to cater for the entire household, Djorbuah and his family also engage in farming as additional source of income.
“It [proceeds] is not enough but I can’t complain because that’s all we do, we only manage,” he answered when asked if the proceeds from what he does suffices for the upkeep of the family. “We farm in addition to this.”
With his customer base mainly in Koforidua and Odumase-Krobo, Djorbuah is able to meet the demands of his customs.
Despite the difficulties of the job, he explains that they have very little choice.
“We face difficulties especially with the heat from the fire but there is no other job so we manage with it,” he said.
“Our major challenge is the firewood and the chemicals we use for the mixture and the metals that we use, we buy them from Accra and it’s very expensive.”
He said though they have put the request for loans before the District Chief Executive for the area for loans to expand their businesses, nothing has been forthcoming.
“We have appealed to the DCE to intervene for some governmental financial support to be given us to expand our businesses. They promised to assist us but nothing like that has happened,” regretted the bead maker.
Tetteh David Maulede is the chairman of the bead makers in Otrokper.
Explaining how the arts of bead making emerged in the community, the 51-year-old father of eight said the current bead makers took over from their forefathers whose preoccupation was the art.
Singling out one of such persons who pioneered the craft in the community, Maulede who named him as Amoah Adego who died in 1995 trained him in the art.
According to him, he learnt the art of bead making from the late craftsman before beginning the art and also training others in the process.
He expressed worry over the rising cost of chemicals and other items used for their activities, adding that the low prices they are compelled to sell their products come as great source of worry to them.
“Most times they increase the prices of the chemicals, the prices they choose to buy our beads too is very bad and this means the sellers make much more money than we do. Secondly, the metals we use is uncommon, we only get it in Kumasi and Accra and it’s very expensive. The chemicals we use are also imported and very expensive so we make no profit, so sometimes we make loses after selling our products,” said Maulede who said getting firewood was another challenge to them.
He expressed regret that calls for assistance over the years have not yielded any results.
Asked if the proceeds suffice for the upkeep of their families, he said it is not enough, the reason they farm in addition to the making of the beads.
Asked if they would love their children taking over from them in the future in this profession, his answer was an outright no, preferring to educate them instead.
“No, now we don’t encourage them to learn the making of beads but rather take them to school to learn because there are problems in it. They no longer buy from us like they used to so we won’t like our children to take over from us,” said Maulede.
Asked if they need a factory for their work, he said “yes, we’ll be happy to have one.”
He was emphatic that the business can be very profitable if they get the necessary assistance from the government to expand it.
