Akwaaba! This is what you will often hear Ghanaians say as they welcome you with open arms into their home, it means welcome, and we welcome you to our store!

In 2016, our family embarked on a journey exploring Ghana in West Africa. It was unforgettable, catching up with family and introducing our children to a new culture, their heritage. They embraced it with open arms, leaving technology at home, getting in touch with nature, making new friends and trying new cuisine, my daughter (who was only 4 at the time) even had giant African snails for dinner, and loved it! One meal I couldn’t quite talk myself into!

Apart from the happy, friendly faces you meet in Ghana, one of the many things that stays with you is the bright, vibrant colour everywhere you turn. Markets are full of beautiful fabrics, a colourful array of fresh produce, the smell of spices and an abundance of unique handmade art and crafts. We really wanted to take a part of Ghana home with us and inspire others to explore this wonderful part of the world and so it was from here that the idea to start Adinkra Designs began.

It was an amazing adventure to say the least and one that we hoped to repeat often…but then life got in the way. Moving house, our third baby came along, the sudden and unexpected passing of my dear Father. That last one was a big wake up call for Kelvin and I. My Dad was only 60, gone too soon before retiring, always putting off his dream holiday for another year…

Dreams can only become reality if you take action and so that is what we did. It all happened pretty quickly once we were set on our decision. In a matter of months, we had packed up our home in Australia and were back on the plane to Ghana. Only this time it was for good! Read more about our move on our blog.

And it feels like we have returned back home. This is where we want to raise our children, we want to be part of the exciting changes happening in Ghana, we want to inspire others to visit and see the magic of Africa for themselves.

An increased presence in Ghana also means we can increase our focus on Adinkra Designs and The Adinkra Project. We believe in a combined philosophy of trade and aid. And let me clarify, we do not mean aid as in handouts or band aid promises. We work direct with artisans to ensure fair work and fair pay practices and we also feel strongly that children are our future and should also be our focus, so for this reason the profit derived from our Kids Toys range directly attributes resources to our Youth Centres in Ghana. Read more about our Youth Centres and The Adinkra Project.

While Adinkra Designs is constantly evolving and we are always adapting the way we work, we are clear on our purpose, we are proud of what we stand for and it drives us everyday to grow Adinkra Designs, as we know, the more we grow, the more we can contribute to this land we now call home.

Medase (thank you),
Kelly and Kelvin Boateng

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