Aburi
Aburi is the name of both an ethnic group and at least two cities in Ghana . The ethnic group once formed part of the original Akwamus population and Aburi chiefs were also present when the Akwapim kingdom was founded in 1731 with the Abotakyi League. One city of Aburi is located at 5 ° 3 ′ N , 1 ° 47 ′ W near Takoradi, another city of Aburi is located at 5 ° 51 ′ N , 0 ° 11 ′ W at the foothills of the 400–460 m high Aburi range of hills of the same name in the Greater Accra Region . The Aburi range of hills belongs to the formation of the Akwapim-Togo chain . The latter is located about 28 km north of Accra on the exit road to Koforidua and just south of Mampong in the Akwapim Mountains. About 20,000 people live in the place at an altitude of 457 meters.
Because of its location in the mountains and its proximity to the coast, an agricultural research farm was set up near Aburi by the British colonial rulers in 1891. The area of the garden originally consisted of 20 hectares, in 1901 it was 17.8 hectares and in 1902 another 40 hectares were acquired as new acquisitions, although considerable resistance was encountered in the latter expansion. Ultimately, enlargement could only take place through the use of sovereign power through expropriations. The purpose of the botanical garden was originally to test and develop possibilities for field construction, which should contribute to a greater financial independence of the gold coast colony. The main focus of the garden was on cultivation experiments with indigenous crops such as cocoa , rubber plants and cola . In addition, all kinds of ornamental and fruit plants were grown, and smaller attempts at cultivation were made with cotton and aromatic plants, in the latter case, in addition to vanilla and pepper , cardamom and nutmeg were mainly used . A register dated July 21, 1900 lists 350 different types of plants grown in Aburi. In 1903 there was a sanatorium in the center of the garden. In 1901 the expenses for this garden amounted to the equivalent of 44,312 marks (then German marks).
At that time, a cotton planter from the USA (Texas) named Edmund Fisher was employed as an expert especially for the cotton tests, but he only had a few smaller test fields set up in the rainforest area in which Aburi is located, which is unfavorable for cotton. A larger cotton testing station was built on his recommendation in the grassland plains of Kroboland on the Volta , where cotton has always been grown as an indigenous culture and processed into clothing. Not only was an experimental farm set up here, but attempts were also made to encourage the locals to expand their cotton cultivation. The latter was accomplished primarily by the distribution of seeds to the chiefs in conjunction with a purchase guarantee for all harvested cotton to a central purchase market in Akuse 6 ° 9 ' N , 0 ° 6' O at Volta, where the cotton can also be easily accommodated by water could. The cotton could then also be transported away on the Volta. The most distant cotton growing area in the region from Akuse is the Awudome landscape, which is about 13-15 km from the Volta. A gin station was also set up in Akuse to process the raw cotton.
The botanical garden in Aburi was also responsible for the care and maintenance of the garden on Christiansborg.
Today, the only botanical garden in Ghana is located on the site in Aburi. Above all, it is the location of numerous plants that were not originally native to Ghana, but have been added to the collection of tropical plants here.
The weekend house ('Peduase Lodge') of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah , was located in Aburi's neighboring village, Kitase, and is now used as accommodation for state guests.
Aburi is a well-known tourist destination due to the botanical garden.
Footnotes
- ↑ "Gin station" (derived from English: engine ) was a common name at the time for a station with a larger system for the mechanical processing of something. Most of the time, however, the term meant a plant for processing raw cotton.
See also
literature
- Gruner, study trip to the Gold Coast to explore the cocoa and cola folk culture , Der Tropenpflanzer, 8 (1904) 418–431, 492–508, 540–559