The Roots – Our Shared Roots

The story of Ankwa-Roots and Won Bee Ga, Ba! began long before the organisations received their present names. Their shared roots lie in the connections between people who brought together art, traditional music, spirituality, community life and respect for nature.

One of the central figures in this story was Nii Kpakbo Adotey Tohojo. He was among the first people to begin shaping the beach area now known as Ananse Beach, behind Jamestown's traditional fishing harbour and near the sacred Osikan rocks, transforming it into a lively place where people could meet and come together. This first bay lies where the old town of Jamestown meets Accra Central.

A community of artists and others gradually formed around him, living and working together and bringing their ideas to life. From this community, the Ananse artists' collective emerged.

Kpakbo Adotey Tohojo was deeply rooted in the spiritual traditions of his homeland. He had extensive knowledge of ritual music, traditional ceremonies, natural remedies and the history of Accra's priests, families and traditional royal lineages. The sacred rocks, the sea and the shrine located there were all part of this spiritual world. For him, nature, culture, spirituality and community life were inseparable.

Claas Wiechmann from Germany met him during his early visits to Ghana and became part of this community. Through Nii Kpakbo Adotey Tohojo, he gained a deep insight into the traditional world of the Ga people, their family structures, spiritual heritage and special relationship with nature.

Their meeting developed into a close friendship and many years of cooperation. Claas supported the artists' collective in building workshops and shared community spaces and helped develop the area further – initially through his personal commitment and later together with Ankwa-Roots e. V., which was founded in 2007.

A shared awareness of the environment played an important role from an early stage. Even back then, the beach was regularly cared for, rubbish was collected and community clean-ups were organised. However, from around 2010 onwards, we witnessed a dramatic increase in the amount of waste being washed ashore by the sea. Protecting this special place became an ever greater challenge. From the very beginning, this commitment was closely connected to community life, artistic activities and cultural traditions.

Nii Kpakbo Adotey Tohojo passed away far too early in 2007. However, his ideas and his understanding of nature, culture and community continue to live on through the people who have shaped and developed this place over the years.

Another important figure in this shared history is Nii Adjarh Torto, the cousin of Nii Kpakbo Adotey Tohojo and founder of the Kwaabuette School of African Music and Dance in Osu.

The two artistic communities, Ananse in Jamestown and Kwaabuette in Osu, were closely connected for many years. Musicians, dancers, artists and friends came together, worked alongside one another and cared for their surroundings. Over time, a shared network developed, connecting both ends of this stretch of coastline.

From these cultural and community roots, the early beach clean-ups and a growing awareness of environmental issues, the initiative Won Bee Ga, Ba! later emerged. Together with Solomon Okuley Tetteh, Claas Wiechmann and many other dedicated people from the local communities, the environmental work gradually became more organised and expanded.

In 2025, the Won Bee Ga, Ba! Development Project was officially registered as an independent Ghanaian non-profit organisation (NPO).

What began with art, music, spirituality, friendship and a shared commitment to protecting a small stretch of beach has grown into an initiative dedicated to protecting Accra's waterways, lagoons and entire coastline.

One Love. One Ocean.