The Generator

Without a generator, the frequent 'light off' as they say in Ghana will significantly hamper the productivity of your operation. Should you wish to connect a generator, here's how...
 
Begin by following the instructions on the machine itself. 'Motor locks' which hold rotating parts steady during transport will need removing, the axles and wheels will need attaching, and the battery will need mounting and connecting...

Now find an appropriate location for the generator. If it is small you will want to keep it inside and move it outside when in use. The one in this example if 6kW and is best located in a permanent outhouse with good ventilation. You will also need to consider the size of the cable connecting the generator to the primary circuit breaker. At 25A - single phase - this generator needs a '4mm by 3' wire. As you route the line from the outhouse to the main electrical hub be sure to protect it with pipe as it passes underground...

Home made ladders can be dangerous. Rope in a strong young lad like Teye to hold it steady for you while you feed that cable over the rafters...

Now for the fun part. You'll need to determine the number of live feeds required by your site. We receive 3 phases, but each is used to power a different part of the building, so a junction box is required. Drill through the wall to bring the generator's cable inside and feed it into the junction box. Unlike in the UK, '1 to 3' connectors don't exist and a junction box is actually just an empty casing with room for a lot of electrical tape! With 25A at hand, do the decent thing and buy a series of 1 to 1 brass lugs and use them to split the live wire into 3.

                                    (thanks to Tim's dad for his advice on this part)

 
Below the junction box you'll see the large transfer switch, already wired to the mains (normally this would need to be installed, but we already have one. It is used as a main 'on-off' for the house.) Route the neutral and the (now 3) live wires into the relevant brass connections in the bottom of the transfer switch. TAKE CARE - those black cables coming out the top of the box are the live feed from the main external power cables and can't be shut off. Don't touch them!

With everything in order inside the house you're nearly done. One last challenge. Swapping the live and neutral wires on an AC appliance doesn't normally matter (the current is after all 'alternating' 50 times a second), but get it wrong on a generator and every fuse and circuit breaker in the house becomes useless. That's not good for your workforce's health. Use the wiring schematic for the generator to ensure you know which outlet it will use for the live feed, and wire the round, waterproof plug appropriately...

                                                                 Plug it in...

                                                               Start it up...

 
And you're away! No more 'light off' to slow down those sewing machines :o)
Lyd x

One month on...

We have been open now for 1 month and in that time we have welcomed 4 new members to the Prampram Workshop Team:

                                      TT – Sewing machine mechanic and tailor.

                                 Phildela – Seamstress (and also our amazing cook).

                                                            Faustina - Batiker.

                                                Henrietta – Seamstress Assistant.

                    We have also produced over 200yds of batik cloth and 150 sewn items:

                                                And Rosemary is now crawling!

Last week we received our first official order from the US so we are working hard to get these products ready to be shipped from Accra on the 11^th March.

  

For a quick tour of the workshop click here (video)

  

Outside of the workshop, Tim has started playing polo on Friday evenings with our friend Bob.  I think he is a natural!!

     

We have also taken up scrabble and can be found most evenings battling it out across the board!

 T&L xxx

Want to help?

We've had enquires from a couple of readers now about how they could contribute directly to the development of our site here in PramPram. Making the logical assumption that if two people are thinking that way, you must, infact, all be about to ask the very same question, we've bowed to your request and laid out your options below.

A starter for 10, or in this case 20, these sturdy fans are the workhorse of our central ventilation system. Proven to reduce sweat by 300g/hr nothing says you care like Binatone’s five bladed ‘silent wonder'.

 

                                        Binatone variable speed, rotating fan (£20)

Feeling macho? Want to buy steel? These Ghanaian built propane tanks can take up to 34bar of highly explosive propane fuel with only a minimal chance of exploding. Thankfully they also hold LPG, which is good because it’s the only fuel you can buy out here. It’s also not as dangerous.

                                                  14.5kg LPG tank (£30) 

Prefer wood? Our local carpenter is superb and hand crafts these tables for batiking with little more than a chisel and sandpaper. They’re vital to the operation, and in use 8hrs a day.

Handmade batik table (£45), Charles awaits your order – although he will be a little late with delivery.

From outside to in, cutting tables need an excellent finish. Planed, varnished, sanded and varnished again, this beautiful redwood frame is fitted with a 6ft by 4ft plywood centre for a perfectly flat finish. A table that wouldn’t look out of place in John Lewis is yours for just £55.

                                             Handmade cutting table (£55)

Want to cut to the chase? We can’t sew without sewing machines. These are our most used and most valued assets on site, and are the critical milestones to expansion. Juki’s industrial sewing machine, with separate motor, isn’t cheap, but then we’re not planning on closing any time soon…

   Industrial sewing machine, arrives at the operation with an additional smiling seamstress (£190)

For every 5 sewing machines we need one knitting machine. With your foot down, these top end machines knit at 6,000 loops / minute, and are vital for finishing the inside seams on all dresses, shirts and T-shirts. (Turn the bottom side of your T-shirt or shirt inside out and look at the complex thread holding the front piece of material to the back – this is knitting thread from a machine like this one).

                                       Pricey, but still excellent value at £215

    

Want to go the whole hog? Our 16ft by 33ft outdoor shelter needs a new roof, the old one was looking a little worn last week. We’re half way there, now for the thatch.

                              £1200, comes with a sheepish but very grateful caretaker

This post is meant more as a tongue in cheek guide to what we’ve been buying than as a serious fund raising effort. However if you are keen to donate please do drop us an email at timoricho@hotmail.com. Our ladies will be very grateful.

All our love,

Tim & Lyd xxx

Cheeky reference

As blogs go, this one would be considered photo intensive. We tell our story more through the medium of pixels than print, and in a country as vivid as Ghana we're comfortable with that.

However, a US volunteer currently over here for a month is far more adept with the written language and has written a superb blog which brings to life the sites, sounds and smells of this wonderful country.

Two extracts to tempt you:
"Behind these shops I caught occasional glimpses of the kind of African city that's probably easy for you to imagine. One- and two-story shacks, brightly colored and probably dirt-floored. Curtains for doorways, chickens running everywhere, kids screaming, cars stalling, and taxis honking as they drive by. It didn't feel impoverished though. It felt like life. I'm sure I'll continue to reflect on what I saw that first night, and what I'll see throughout the month."

Separate story:
"Am I flattered? ... Not really. It just feels like a race/gender thing. It's exhausting to be who I am physically. I want to take a break from being white and female. All the attention makes me wonder—do I have a sign on my head that says “Come and get it!” or “I'm woman, I'm yours!” ??? And I find myself longing for a way to cover up all my features, so as not to be noticed. I think to myself, hijab would be ideal; I feel like I understand why some women choose to veil themselves—you could be more free to go about without fending of man after man. Other times I think, “Get me outta here! Get ME to a nunnery!” "

...the link... http://unmamainghana.blogspot.com/

It's not a site to be missed if you're interested in Africa.

And speaking of sites not to be missed, this 2ft long lass made her way up onto our beach during the full moon last night and dropped of her eggs in the sand. Some careful burial from the white folks around should keep those eggs safe for the next month, after-which we may be in for a real treat as the young make their way down to the water.

Tim and Lyd xxx

Disaster

Having successfully launched the operation on Monday and Tuesday last week we woke up on Wednesday full of pride and looking forward to our first day off in a month.

This was the view from our window:

A fire set by the side of our land to keep out snakes burned out of control, leaped up a tree and took out the batiking building, 6 chairs, the high pressure hose for our gas burner, and shorted out power.

Lydia and I stood in awe and watched while the caretaker, feeling pretty guilty at this point, chucked our remaining water supply on the nearby two buildings two ensure they didn't ignite.

Half an hour later:

At least we saved the batik table! And on a more serious note no-one was hurt, and this wasn't the main building, on which we've spent the past month's working.

Needless to say our day of relaxing was short lived. We'll be rebuilding the roof over the coming month or so.

Just another day in Ghana.

Tim and Lyd x

Open for business

We’re a little late posting this week, but with good reason… We’re producing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Work started yesterday, we couldn’t resist a Western style Agenda and ‘Values’ discussion...

And after that it was up up and away,

•   cutting stamps and stamping

• Cutting and sewing

This industrial quality sewing machine was purchased for us by James and Alex, a fantastic donation which will allow to recruit one more seamstress into the operation

• Fixing the sewing machines (I should have built them properly in the first place)…

Now what’s wrong with this photo?

Yep, I spotted it too, the thread tension’s shot. Look at the bobbin thread puckering through the seam. Shocking.

• Dying and hanging

    

    

   

• Looking good

• And finishing our first item!!!

By the end of the day, 6 baskets finished and 4 yards batiked with another 4 well under way.

Left to right, Lyd, Be, Charity, Eunice, Christie, Tim

In truth, we couldn’t be more proud.

 Tim and Lydia xxx

Cool things

Not a lot of time for a coherent blog in the run up to Christmas,  so this fortnight you get a random selection of  things we think are just great!

The pump house. Having seen foundations laid, blockwork in progress, and a corrugated roof going on we had a go ourselves. Lyd and I built this little hut over the course of two days to keep our water-pump and booster protected, and make them quieter. We're very proud parents.

Friends!!! Adam and Rach were here for two weeks and loved Ghana. Beers on the balcony and trips to the local lake side resort are even more fun with friends around. And now James and Alex have joined us for Christmas!

Adam and Rachael enjoying the view at Alos Bay

James and Alex with Lyd at Head Office in Accra

Full size beer. On the left, a Ghanaian beer bottle (90p) next to a normal size UK bottle (which you can buy out here if you go searching). The gin is surprisingly good too, and at 1.80p for a full 1L bottle you can have a party here without spending much.

The office (in the sewing center) is complete!!! Lydia is taking credit for the two coats of neat paint that give the room a fresh new look. I'm taking credit for the flashing multi-coloured 6-way multisocket adapter mounted on the wall with individual on off buttons. One took more work than the other.

Car insurance. For roughly 14 quid a year a car is insured for any driver. I've no idea how the insurance company makes money as there are a lot of accidents out here, but it means we can drive 4x4s and pickups as needed.

Ben! Dave and Renae adopted a gorgeous little two year old three days ago. He's had a rough couple of years up to now, but is so well behaved and is in for a superb boost in life. Lucky little lad.

The sea view. Waking up in the cool morning air and listening to the waves crash in.

The view from our porch

That's a wrap. Have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Tim and Lyd xxx