Pottery in Ghana has a centuries-old history. However, Anthoanett Hodo's unglazed pots differ from traditional pottery as she made them suitable for cooking.
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00:00Is it true that old pots make food taste better?
00:04We do not know, but Antoinette Hodo knows that old traditional pottery makes a healthy living.
00:11Food cooked in unglazed clay pots are very healthy because of the nutrients found in the earthenware clay we use for the production.
00:20Nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and sulfur are all found in earthenware clay.
00:26So when you cook with the earthenware clay, it doesn't absorb or take away the nutrients around the food.
00:32It returns the nutrients which allows you to cook with the food.
00:37Originally from Kando, a well-known pottery center in the Volto region of Ghana,
00:43Antoinette grew up with her mother and grandmother who were both potters.
00:48She also learned the craft at a young age.
00:51However, it was not until later that she decided to dedicate herself full-time to pottery.
00:57When COVID came, I lost my job.
01:00So I had to go back to what I love to do best.
01:04First, the passion is there. I love doing it. I enjoy working with clay.
01:07For my grandma and then my mother, they are more into like cookwares and then servewares,
01:12like pieces that you could actually put on fire, cooking and then also serve or dish your food.
01:19So that is what I learned from them.
01:21Yeah, they work with the Ghanaian traditional pottery technique.
01:25One of Antoinette's main concerns is to pass on this ancient craft to the next generation.
01:33And she is not only passing on the knowledge of a particularly consumer-friendly cooking method in the kitchen.
01:40But all you need is just to focus, you work with your hand and with few basic tools.
01:46After learning this, you'll be able to make something for yourself, at least feed your family or it can become a side job.
01:53So you don't really need that big money to invest into this by buying a wheel.
01:58But I can actually use my hands to make something and take care of myself.
02:02So that was what empowered me.
02:04Pottery in Ghana has a deep-rooted history dating back centuries.
02:09Traditionally, it has been crafted by women using hand-molding techniques.
02:14These pieces served functional purposes, including cooking, storage and ceremonial uses.
02:21Antoinette's work earned her recognition as an innovative female entrepreneur in 2023.
02:27But how are her unglazed pots different from the ancient pottery passed down by generations?
02:34What exactly is her innovation?
02:37Mostly, when they mention pottery, people think of the pots that are used to hold water, which comes very rough and then mostly comes very heavy.
02:50So I have introduced tools.
02:52One tool I introduced was a tool that we could actually use to burnish the pieces, to close the pores and then the holes, to make it more smoother, which can as well be put on fire.
03:05Faith pottery has introduced the tools for scraping and reducing the thickness, but it is still fireproof.
03:11It's safe to go on any kind of fire.
03:14I source materials locally to avoid industrial chemicals in my pottery by sourcing my clay directly from quarry.
03:22When it comes to pottery, there is nothing like waste.
03:25Even the broken pottery pieces, the fired ones, can still be recycled and used as grown.
03:29When it comes to the dry clay that has not been fired yet, we re-soak them and then re-use.
03:35So I'll be making a bowl, a basic bowl, which can actually be used for cereals or soup or anything at all.
03:43Before I work with clay, I have to knead the clay to make sure all the air bubbles are removed.
03:47I use the pinch hand-building method.
03:50So I pick my bowl of clay, knead it and then put it in a bowl, create a hole in it, open it up with my fingers.
03:57Patter is used for shaping and also to compress the piece and make sure the air pockets are closed up.
04:03After I part my piece, I'm going to scrape out some of the clay because it feels very heavy.
04:09After scraping out, I'm going to use the rough pebble to burnish the piece, to close up the tiny holes.
04:16I'm not going to expose it to sunlight.
04:18I will have to leave it for a while, for about three days.
04:21Then I can now expose it to direct sunlight for it to dry.
04:24After it dries, now I can pre-fire my bowl and then do the main firing and oxidation.
04:30What are the benefits of using an unglazed clay pot in cooking?
04:35And why is Antoinette promoting their usage as compared to modern cookware?
04:40Clay pots are not any difficult pots to keep.
04:44It's just simple, just like our normal or regular pots that we cook with.
04:47You can keep your clay pots in your cabin.
04:50But to avoid or prevent the clay pots from breaking, you don't put clay pots in a preheated oven.
04:57You can't place a hot clay pot on a cold surface, being in the towels, the wet rags or whatever.
05:05You have to find a good metallic placement or it has to be a dry surface.
05:09It can be the rag, but it has to be very dry until it falls from a height.
05:13You can use your clay pot for years.
05:15The first time I used the clay pots to cook, the taste was different from the regular ones that we use.
05:22And it is safe to make foods in.
05:25And then one thing is that it is also durable.
05:28I feel so happy knowing that individuals and restaurants are using my clay pots.
05:34And I want more people who doesn't even know clay pots can actually be used for cooking and then for serving,
05:41apart from being used as decorative pieces, to come and then patronize our pieces.
05:46Because it makes me happy knowing that people are going to use them
05:49and they are going to remain being healthy and then they will live longer.
05:54Is it true that old pots make food taste better?
05:58Perhaps we will never know for sure.
06:00But what Antoine Netodo does know is that traditional pottery promotes healthy living,
06:07renews culture and thus helps people and the environment.
06:11Do not believe in the workplace.
06:13Do not believe in the Chilean fluffy pot for you.
06:22Do not believe in the hometown.
06:36Do not doen't control otherwise.
06:37The culture in Italy.