Adanwomase Kente Village

Adanwomase is a town in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, in Kwabre East District, roughly 27 km northeast of Kumasi, with Bonwire about 2 km away. It is known for kente weaving and also has a mini kente weaving museum. The town's name comes from the Adanwo tree; in Asante Twi, "Adanwomase" means "under the Adanwo tree."

Its place in kente history is specific. In 1697 the Asantehene commissioned the Akyimpimhene to send people from Adanwomase, Asotwe, Bonwire and Wonoo to study strip-weaving in Bontuku, in present-day Ivory Coast. The patterns they were given, called Sesea, are considered the first true Ashanti kente, and the original swatches are kept in the Kente Chief's house in Adanwomase. Since then the town has been the royal weaving village for the Asante King.

For visitors, the usual starting point is the Visitor Centre, where tours are arranged and a guide is met. The weaving tour goes to the community kente workshop, where visitors can try thread spinning, warping and weaving, and then to village shops selling kente and other crafts. Longer workshops with master weavers must be arranged in advance. Other tours cover the chief's palace, a traditional healer's shrine, a house said to be more than 300 years old, a cocoa farm and a forest shrine, with culinary and cultural performances available by arrangement.

Practical facilities are modest and community-run. The Visitor Centre has flush toilets, and meals from a community cook can be delivered there. Home stays or camping sites are arranged through the Visitor Centre, and liquid refreshments are available in the village. Hotels are found in Ejisu and Kumasi rather than in the town itself. The Visit Ghana listing gives opening hours of 7 am to 6 pm daily, noting visitors are welcome year-round and that the village is cooler in the early morning and late afternoon.