Resource 2: A comparison of Navrongo and Axim

Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

Navrongo is the guinea savannah of the Upper East Region of Ghana, and is on the border of Burkina Faso, Ghana's northern neighbour. The rural populations around Navrongo live in settlements that consist of compounds made primarily of mud and thatch. The majority of Navrongo’s population live in dispersed villages.

Navrongo is a very rural area. Almost everyone is a subsistence farmer with another job on the side. Principle crops are millet, corn, groundnuts (peanuts), rice, and sorghum. Unfortunately, when the rains fail and the crops die, hunger is not far behind as most people get by year to year. The rainy season starts in May and ends in September. This short season only allows for one crop cycle.

Axim is a town on the coast of Ghana. It lies 63 km west of the port city of Takoradi, south of the highway leading to the Côte d'Ivoire border, in the Western Region to the west of Cape Three Points. The Western Region has the highest rainfall in Ghana, lush green hills and fertile soils. There are numerous small and large-scale gold mines.

The economy relies mainly on Axim's fishing fleet, but the area also has two tourist beach resorts and coconut and rubber plantations. The scenic and fertile terrain features many palm trees. Local artisanal miners pan for gold in streams inland from Axim. Axim has a transport station, two major bank branches, and some rural banks.

Every August, the major festival of Kundum takes place, coinciding with the best fishing-catch of the year; people come to Axim for the festivities and to fish and trade from several countries on the Guinea Coast.

Adapted from: Wikipedia, Website http://en.wikipedia.org [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] (Accessed 2008)

Resource 1: Living in different communities

Resource 3: Education for sustainable development (ESD)