Lume-Kpodoave - Amazing community of peace, harmony
Lume-kpodoave is a heavily forested community in the Ho Municipality, with a population of about 2,500.
The boulevard which leads to the community is serene and clean, and so are the neighbourhoods of the community and the compounds of every house. The old and modern houses are well-kept in Lume-Kpodoave while there are trees with branches spread wide at every gathering point to serve as shades.
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In Lume-Kpodoave, no one goes hungry because food is produced in abundance. The fertile soil guarantees huge harvests of cassava, yam, plantain, banana, oranges, cocoyam, cocoa, tomatoes, okro and other foodstuffs, which have ready demand from buyers in Accra, Hohoe, Ho and Aflao.
The high-quality zomi (red oil) and palm wine produced in Lume-Kpodoave are also in high demand from far and near. With the hilly nature of the place, the buildings on the slopes are fascinating.
The people of Lume-Kpodoave are exceptionally friendly, offering visitors on arrival not only water but also grasscutter light soup and fresh palm wine. Over the years, the people have undertaken various development projects, including school blocks, a clinic, street lights and boreholes through self-help.
Educated
As a result of the strong influence of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Catholic Church, the people of Lume-Kpodoave are highly educated. Among them are doctors, teachers, lawyers, judges, army officers, social workers, police officers, nurses, agriculturists, university professors and chefs; many of them working in various parts of the country and the world.
A woodlot and picnic ground in Lume-Kpodoave
The community also boasts of carpenters, plumbers and masons. Another blessing of the community is the forests, which are home to numerous antelopes, wild cats, wild pigs, grasscutters and other animals.
An elder of the community, William Kojo Krakani, who briefed this reporter, said hunting in Lume-Kpodoave is an important livelihood and not just a recreational activity; the hunters mostly operate at night.
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In the absence of crime, there is no police station in Lume-Kpodoave, where the consequences of crime can be dreadful for the perpetrator. Meanwhile, sanitation has always been a matter of great importance to the people, and they demonstrated their commitment to cleanliness again this Easter by commissioning an ultra-modern 12-seater communal water closet facility in the community.
The GH¢517,000 place of convenience was also constructed through self-help. Mr Krakani said the project took off in 2014 at a slow pace. However, recently, a prominent member of the community, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, took up the responsibility of supporting the project with more funds and materials to ensure its completion.
The airy and clean picnic grounds in the community add to its status as an emerging tourism hub. Still on tourism, Mr Krakani said the main focus now was to grow more trees in the forests to promote wildlife tourism in Lume-Kpodoave.
“This is possible because apart from the forests, wild animals and fertile soil, our greatest treasure in Lume-Kpodoave is the peace and unity among us,” he added.
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Border Community
Lume-Kpodoave is a border community, about 15 minutes’ drive from Akpadafe in Togo. So, one’s cellular phone signals may sometimes give way to Togo networks; another interesting feature in the community where one could make calls at the gate of some houses but not inside the houses.
Remarkably, there is no chieftaincy or land dispute in Lume-Kpodoave. The people revere their chief, Togbe Honofe IV.