Jolinaiko Eco Tours - Experience West Africa!
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History

Meeting the chiefs

At the end of 2005, Apollo Panou approached the local chiefs of Atsiekpoe about his plans for the Jolinaiko Eco Vilage. Part of this meeting were traditional rituals and formal introductions accompanied by the drinking of local gin. The chiefs approved of the plans, and Jolinaiko acquired three acres of ground on the river bank, on which the Eco Lodge was going to be built. The attitude of the village and its elders was still a little sceptical. They did not understand why somebody 'from outside' would be interested in such a normal village as Atsiekpoe.

Building trust

Slowly more trust was built when indeed visitors were brought to Atsiekpoe by Jolinaiko, and local guides were hired. People were gathered to start building the Jolinaiko Eco Lodge in 'Atsiekpoe-style'.

The positive effects of the presence of Jolinaiko Eco Tours were becoming more visible when a village library was established, contributions were made into the community fund, and a sanitation project was initiated in partnership with the Stepping Stones for Africa Foundation.

June 2010 is the deadline for finishing the first 8 toilets that are being built through community labour. These achievements have contributed to a very positive attitude of the village towards the presence of Jolinaiko Eco Tours, and consequently Apollo's wife, Cindy Noordermeer-Panou, was given the position of 'Queen Mother of Atsiekpoe' ('Mama Dunenyo') in January 2010.

“ We received a warm welcome. People carried our luggage on their head to our house, everybody greeted us with 'Woez' and people were smiling. Children were running after us screaming 'yevu, yevu!'.

It is a lovely place to live. Living with the sun. The villages are not really developed and isolated from the 'civilized world' (no electricity, mud houses, cooking on a fire etc.). Still the villages are rich in what they have. You don't need electricity, because there is a breeze from the river and water is close by. We thought it was wonderful to walk outside and see the goats and chickens walking freely. The people live from the natural resources like fish and cassava. They make baskets out of plants and eat mangoes when it is the mango season. On Sundays you see everybody in their beautiful traditional clothes going to church. Although the villages are little, they have five churches! God plays an important role in these communities.

We hope that you will enjoy the people and the nature as much as we did. Yevu, woez! ”

Annemarie van Alphen & Irene Poortinga ,
The Netherlands. sankofa
Annemarie and Irene lived in Atsiekpoe-Vume for 3 months and taught at the local primary school.

Teaching in Atsiekpoe-Vume is a unique experience. If you have a teaching background and are interested in spending some time doing voluntary work, please see our volunteering pages.