The textile industry in Ghana can be divided into two broad groups. In thefirst group are those large-scale companies whose production capacity runs into thou- sands of yards of fabric per year. These companies use modern machinery and equipment and processes earlier described in the text for their production. The companies in this group manufacture mostly not only for the local market but also for export. These companies employ several hundred personnel in the production lines. In the second group are small scale, exclusively, indigenous enterprises that produce textiles mostly for the local market. This latter group can further be divided into two, namely, those that weave indigenous textiles such as kente or smock (‘frugu’), and those that use homemade designs to print or decorate already woven fabrics. This latter group includes tie and dye (or tie-dye) manufacturers, batik cloth makers and‘Adinkra’cloth producers.
3.8.1 Commercial Textile Manufacturing in Ghana
The history of the textile industry in Ghana is a checked one. Originally developed as part of a grand vision of the post-independence governments to industrialize the nation, it employed at its peak in the early 1970s an estimated 25,000 skilled and non-skilled workers in about 40 textile manufacturing plants. The industry was and remains cotton based. Some of the companies had machinery that processed raw cotton into yarn and thence into fabrics and garment. Others only processed printed fabric from bleached fabric. The cotton was supplied mostly from local farms, which meant that a vibrant local cotton industry was developed alongside the textile industry. In the 1980s and thereafter, however, the industry began to decline, mainly as a result of a generally unfavorable economic conditions in the nation but increasingly as a result on unfair competition of cheaper products from China, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ivory Coast. By 2000, only 5000 workers were employed in the industry. Even so, the decline continued such that by 2005 only four major textile manufacturing plants remained in production which together employed only about 2961 persons. Presently, the only textile companies operating in the country are Ghana Textile Manufacturing Company (GTMC), Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), Ghana Textile Product (GTP) and Printex. Among these, currently, only GTP process cotton into yarn and fabric. All the other import fabrics are then processed and printed/dyed into garments. These companies produce mostly cotton-based textile products, which include African prints (wax, java, fancy, bed sheets, and school uniforms) and household fabrics (curtain materials, kitchen napkins, diapers and towels). Some products from man-madefibers (synthetics, e.g.
polyester) and their blends are also made. These include uniforms, knitted blouses and socks.
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3.8.2 The Indigenous Textile Industry
Long before the advent of Europeans in Ghana, and before the setting up of commercial textiles industry in Ghana, indigenous people of Ghana made clothes using the loom and pattern printing with wood carved objects—locally called
‘Adinkra’. In the North of the country smock (frugu), weaving was an already established industry. Recently, tie and dye and batik cloth making have also been introduced into the country. These, mostly craft industries, are carried out on a small scale by indigenous Ghanaians.
3.8.2.1 Kente Weaving
The product of Kente weaving is the Kente cloth, a brilliant colorful cloth made from cotton, rayon, sheen, or silk and woven on the traditional loom. This loom device is built with wood and operated manually. The design and operation of the loom are many respects similar to the loom described earlier in Sect.3.5.2. In particular, features such as heddles, pulleys with spools, shuttles with bobbins, beaters, sword stick combined with other structures such as skein winder, bobbin winder, bobbin holder and a heddle-making frame are all used with the traditional loom. Kente is usually woven into four inches wide strips, which are then sown together into various sizes, which are further added together to manufacture a larger Kente cloth. The main weaving communities of Kente cloth are in the Ashanti region where legend has it that Kente weaving originated and Volta region, which also has a very strong tradition of Kente weaving. Even though data are scanty on the extent of the Kente weaving industry in the country, it is a thriving business in Bonwire, Adanwomase and surrounding towns in the Ashanti region, and also in the Agortime and Sogakope areas of the Volta Region. Pockets of Kente manu- facturers may also be found in some other southern communities in Ghana.
3.8.2.2 The Adinkra Cloth
Adinkra is the name of an indigenous hand printed fabric made from unbleached
‘cotton’ fabric by stamping colored patterns (designs) into the fabric using wood-carved stamps. During Adinkra making, the cotton fabric is,first, completely soaked in a base colored dye (often black but sometimes red) following which the fabric is dried often in the sun. Subsequently, the dyed fabric is spread out on aflat surface and patterns (wood bearing designs) are pressed into the base fabric to give it a designed appearance. The patterns arefirst dipped into dye solutions which may have a color different from the color of the base fabric. Adinkra like Kente is a ceremonial cloth except that Adinkra is worn mostly during funerals and during occasions that demand sober reflections. In Ghana Adinkra is almost exclusively made in Ntonso and surrounding towns in the Ashanti Region.
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3.8.2.3 Tie and Dye Cloth
Tie and dye is yet another technique used to decorate fabrics. It derives its name from the processes by which the fabric is colored or decorated. During tie and dye, the fabric is, literally,first tied into folds and subsequently dyed. The process uses bleached cotton fabric as the base cloth which isfirst folded and tied depending on the color design/patterns envisaged for the fabric. Portions of the folded fabric are thereafter soaked completely in a base dye. When the fold is spread out, the dye will spread across the fabric making beautiful colors and patterns. Finally, the fabric is dried in order to drive out moisture. Sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide and chrolex are usually dissolved in the dye solution in order to improve the fastness of the dye into the fabric. Tie and dye, like the Kente and Adinkra, is carried out on small scale in Ghana. It is, however, an industry that can be found in most com- munities throughout the country, mostly carried out by women folks and com- munity groups.
3.8.2.4 Batik Cloth
The batik process is yet another approach to decorating fabrics with colors and designs. In batik making, the fabric design is achieved by dipping patterns/design on wood or foam into melt wax and applying the wax into the fabric. Subsequently, the waxed fabric is dipped into a dye whereupon those areas of the cloth without wax are soaked with the dye. After drying the fabric, the application of wax and dipping into a dye solution may be repeated in order to achieve the desired design in the cloth. As afinal step, the wax is removed by boiling the fabric in a hot water, and finally drying the fabric. Unlike, tie and dye or Adinkra making, the batik process is tedious, lengthy and more complex. A flow chart of the batik-making process is shown in Fig.3.10.
3.8.2.5 Frugu Making
In Ghana, smock wear is a distinctively of Northern Ghana origin. In recent times however, it is worn throughout the country by all manner of Ghanaians. Some use it as every day wear—particularly in the North, others use it as an office wear, yet others wear it on special occasions. The process of making frugu is in many respects like Kente making. Like Kente, strips of the fabric arefirst woven on the loom. Subsequently, the strips are sown together into large sizes. Furgu is made exclusively from cotton yarn, which may be dyed prior to weaving into fabric or not.
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Further Readings
Babu, K. M. (2018). Silk: Processing, properties and applications (2nd ed.). Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
Cobman, B. P. (1985).Fiber to fabric(6th ed.). McGraw Hill Higher Education.
Hearle, J. W. S. (2008).Physical properties of textilefibres(4th ed.). Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
Johnson, I., Cohen, A. C., &Sarkar, A. K.(2015).J.J. Pizzuto's fabric science swatch kit (11th ed.).
London: Fairchild Books
Kadolph, S. J. (2016).Textiles(12th ed.). Pearson.
Morton, W. E. (2008).Physical properties of textilefibres(4th ed.). Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
Thompson, R. (2014). Manufacturing processes for textile and fashion design professionals. Thames & Hudson Ltd.
Woodings, C. (Ed.). (2001).Regenerated cellulosefibres. Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
Fig. 3.10 A simplified schematic of the batik making process
Further Readings 105
4
Fertilizer Technology
Abstract
Fertilizers are substances that are added to the media where plants are grown to stimulate plant growth and promote crop yield. Fertilizers added to the soil for uptake of nutrients through the roots but may also be applied by foliage feeding for update through the leaves. Fertilizers may occur in nature (e.g. peat or mineral deposits, saltpeter) or produced through natural process such as composting, or may be manufactured by chemical processes (e.g. the Harber Process). Each nutrient/fertilizer has specific roles on plant growth. For instance, nitrogen is required by plants for protein metabolism and promotes leaves and stem growth. Potassium facilitates the workings of the nervous system of the plants. Potassium deficiency causes yellowing of plant, readiness to wilt, falling of leaves and poor development of fruits. Phosphorous provides the energy requirement of plant reactions. Sufficient amount in soils promotes good root growth and the production offlowers and fruits. In this chapter, the methods for manufacturing the various fertilizers and nutrients have been covered in detail.
Also discussed in this chapter is the fertilizer industry in Ghana.