“Akyeke” Ivorian dish, creating brisk business for women in Sunyani

'Akyeke” a locally prepared Ivorian dish is creating a lucrative business for some indigenous Ghanaian women in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital.

'Akyeke' is an Ivorian native dialect, interpreted as a locally prepared cassava dish.  

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) market survey reveals consumption of the Ghanaian-adopted local food is in high demand nowadays, thereby, fetching jobs for many women in the capital.

As the nation marks Heritage Month, vendors in locally prepared food told the GNA in an interview in Sunyani that customers were mostly public sector workers and commercial drivers.

Mostly, they preferred and opted for the local dish at lunch time.

During a round visit, the GNA noticed some of the vendors engaged in that food business, prepared the dish from the house, and sold take-away packs at lorry stations, and on table tops, while few others have also created joints for consumers to stay and enjoy.

The GNA chanced on several customers at a popular 'Akyeke joint' situated in the premises of the main Sunyani-Chiraa lorry station around 1200 hours.

Initially, Amina Yusif, the vendor was reluctant to speak to the media, however, she opened up, after some customers convinced her to do so.

She said her customers used to be drivers, artisanal workers, and market women, but now it remained the favorite of many public sector employees, who patronize the dish between 1100 hours and 1500 hours.

Yusif and the other vendors said they sold the diet between GHC5 and GHC10 depending on the preferred choice and ingredients of customers.

“Some of my customers who work in the public sector often request reservations, others also order in their offices,” Yusif stated.

At vendors noticed in the enclave of the Sunyani Central Business District (CBD), confirmed sales were very good and encouraging.

“Akyeke is nutritious and highly economical. I spend less and consume more,” a customer told the GNA, on condition of anonymity and added, “I take in a lot of water when I consume the food”.

Another customer, and a commercial driver only known as Opoku said, “if you don’t go for Akyeke, then what else do you think you can survive with GHC10 when you come to work”.

Origin
The origin of the diet could be traced from the indigenes of Cote D'Ivoire and mostly common Sampa, a Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire border town in the Jaman North District of the Bono region.

In a brief background, Yusif said because Sampa was close to Côte d'Ivoire, she adopted and learned the preparation of the diet from some of her Ivorian friends years back, it had been business, she relocated from Sampa to Sunyani some years back.

Preparation
The diet is prepared from cassava dough, where the dough is boiled in hot water. The ingredients include grinded green pepper spiced with onion, oil, salt, and fish are added.

Initially, Yusif said people preferred consuming the diet with cabbage stew, but added, nowadays, most of her customers order vegetables, beans, eggs, and salad.

Some customers enjoy the diet with shito (hot pepper sauce), ripped plantain, sauces, spring onions, carrots, and roasted groundnuts, she said, saying, that made the business lucrative too.

Nutritional value
Joyce Odei, a health professional told the GNA some of the ingredients such as groundnut, peas, pepper, onion, ginger, and beans, used for the preparation of the diet boost body immunity.

They also reduce the risk of heart diseases, cancers and help generate new cells in the body system and improve digestion.

These ingredients are also good for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, she added.

Challenges
Yusif, and the other vendors of the diet said though sales were good, the high cost of food and other items used for the preparation of the diet had slowed down the business.

She said the business could create more jobs for women and improve their socio-economic livelihoods if the high cost of oil, fish, cassava, charcoal, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) was brought under control.

That would enable women interested in doing the business to afford it, Yusif stated.

GNA