Beyond the Year of Return the Diaspora Dividend Tour 2020

Beyond the Year of Return the Diaspora Dividend Tour 2020

In August 2019, exactly 400 years after the arrival of the first recorded landing of a slave ship in Virginia, which saw the acceleration of the horrendous Middle Passage, hundreds of descendants of former enslaved Africans will make a triumphant return to the land of our ancestry. The trip will take us to Ghana: the land of Kwame Nkrumah-the father of Ghana’s independence and a co-founder of the Organization of African Unity; the country where the great pan-Africanist Dr W. E. B. DuBois spent his final years; the land where Ashanti Kings still hold court and mediate disputes in time-honoured traditions passed down through generations; the land that has preserved more slave dungeons used in the transatlantic slave trade than any other country on the continent. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence from Europeans and is today a thriving democracy, yet its traditions, customs and culture are almost undiluted.

Itinerary

Day 1: ACCRA AND VICINITY

Stop At: Accra International Conference Centre, Castle Rd, Accra Ghana
After breakfast and a brief

orientation by your tour manager, each group will visit the following sites: We will drive past the Independence Square on our way to visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Visit the W.E.B. DuBois former home, now a museum and Center for the study of Pan Africanism Drive through Flagstaff House, the official residence and administrative offices of the president (Ghana’s Whitehouse). Ghana’smostaccomplisheddancetroupe.
Duration: 10 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Mid Range Hotel ( Frankies Hotel)

Day 2: Visit to James Town

Stop At: Accra International Conference Centre, Castle Rd, Accra Ghana
After breakfast, we will be transferred to James Town Lighthouse and the craft centre for shopping.Tour of HistoricJamesTown—oneofAccra’smosthistoricneighborhoods, where history resides on every corner. Best known for its lighthouses (the first of which was constructed in 1875 by the British) as a navigational aid for trading vessels sailing through the Gulf of Guinea. The original structure was ruined; however, a larger and more improved lighthouse completed in 1921 is still functioning today. James Town is also known as Ghana’s boxing incubator, the home of Africa’s most accomplished boxer, Azumah Nelson. You will also visit “Brazil House” and learn about the seven Afro-Brazilians families who returned to settle in James Town in 1836 after slavery was abolished in Brazil. ExperiencesomeofAccra’smostauthenticshoppingopportunitiesincludingCrafts, Carvings, Authentic African Art, exquisite fabrics and custom made clothing.

Duration: 10 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Mid Range Hotel ( Frankies Hotel)

Day 3: TRAVEL TO THE ASHANTI KINGDOM

Stop At: Manhyia Palace Museum, Ahanti New Town Road off Antoa Road, Kumasi Ghana
After breakfast, we will depart to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Kingdom. On arrival in Kumasi, you will check into your hotel and have lunch on our own. After lunch, we will begin to explore this historic city. Visits will include: þ The woodcarving village Of Ahwiaa, known for the talented craftsmen who fashion royal stools, fertility dolls and other crafts from wood. þ The village of Ntonso, where artisan’s hand-stamp patterns on cotton cloth to make Adinkra textiles. Adinkra textiles are worn for funerals and other solemn occasions. Learn how the black dye is made from the bark of trees, and create your own Adinkra sash to take home. þ The village of Bonwire, where the famous Kente cloth is handmade on looms in a time-honoured tradition passed down through generations. See the Kente weavers in the process of creating Kente cloth in various intricate styles.

Duration: 12 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Hotel de Se Manhyia

Day 4: EXPLORING THE RICH ASHANTI CULTURE

Stop At: Kejetia Market, Kumasi Ghana
After breakfast, we will visit the National Cultural Center which features the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum and various studios of brass-makers, potters and batik makers. Exhibits in this museum include a replica of the famed Golden Stool, which is believed to have descended from the sky and is the spiritual symbol of unity for the Ashanti people. Next stop will be Manhyia Palace Museum to obtain firsthand information on the legacies of the Ashanti kingdom, a regal history that dates back to 1700 and is told with relics and artefacts

Duration: 8 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Hotel de Se Manhyia

Day 5: DEPART TO ELMINA AND CAPE COAST

Stop At: Cape Coast Castle, Cape Coast Ghana
Following breakfast, we depart to Cape Coast in Ghana’s Central Region. This region has had the most significant effect on the lives of Africans in the diaspora. We will pass through small villages and arrive at Assin Manso, the burial site of two former slaves from Jamaica and the US whose remains were reinterred here in August 1998 during Ghana’s first Emancipation Day Celebration. You will see the “Slave River:” where our ancestors were washed before confinement in the slave dungeons to await shipment to the

Duration: 10 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Coconut Groove Hotel (African Village)

Day 6: THE EMOTIONAL CAPE COAST EXPERIENCE

Stop At: Cape Coast Castle, Cape Coast Ghana
After breakfast, we will travel the short distance to Cape Coast dungeon, where we will experience the emotional journey of going in the opposite direction of our ancestors, through the infamous “door of no return”. RETURNING through the “door of no return” be prepared to console your travelling companions as this is always an emotional experience. After Cape Coast dungeon, we will be the guest of the Paramount Chief of Elmina, Nana Kojo Conduah IV, who will welcome you with a Grand Durbar attended by him and his sub-chiefs. There will be speeches of atonement followed by traditional performances in which you will be encouraged to join and show your artistic skills, still intact, but hopefully enhanced after over 400 years in exile.

Drop off at location of your your choice in Accra

Duration: 10 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Coconut Groove Hotel (African Village)

Day 7: RETURN TO ACCRA

Stop At: Kakum National Park, Cape Coast Ghana
VisitKakumNationalPark,whichhasoneofAfrica’sfamousrainforestcanopywalkways.This tropical rainforest and the canopy walkway are sure to be one of the highlights of your time in Ghana. The walkway consists of a series of 7 bridges, attached to 7 emerging trees, 40 meters above the rainforest floor. Prepare to take a deep breath as you walk the suspended bridges. You will marvel at the breathtaking views that stretch for miles across the rainforest as you rest on the tree platforms. We are sure you will agree that this is an exciting excursion never to be forgotten.

Duration: 10 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.