Bonwire Kente Weaving Centre

Bonwire Kente Weaving Centre is the visitor hub for kente weaving in Bonwire, a town in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal District of Ghana's Ashanti Region, roughly 18 km along the Kumasi-Mampong road. It functions as a craft centre, cultural site and community tourism stop, and Bonwire is described as the historic home of kente weaving and a living centre of Asante textile tradition.

According to Akan oral tradition, kente originated here. In the mid-17th century two hunters, remembered as brothers, Kuragu and Ameyaw, are said to have studied how a spider spun its web and produced a woven cloth known in Asante-Twi as "Nwin-Ntom". Their discovery was adopted as a royal art by Asantehene Osei Tutu I; the improved basket-like form was called "Kenten-Nwin-Ntoma", later shortened to kente. A Kente stool was created for the inventors in 1721. Kente is woven in narrow strips on traditional hand looms, and there are said to be over 300 named patterns, each carrying meaning drawn from proverbs, historical events, chiefs and plants.

For a visitor, the centre is a place to arrange a tour and then see the craft at close range. Visit Ghana lists a visitor centre where tours are arranged, an open-air area for beverages, a community kente workshop, village shops selling kente and crafts, and homestay accommodation in the village. At the workshop, visitors can try spinning, warping and weaving, meet master weavers, tour the village to see residents at various stages of production, and see the different yarns used. A museum gallery with a reception area, audio-visual room and exhibition hall is also described. A Bonwire Kente Museum was begun after a 2020 sod-cutting, and the Bonwire Kente Festival is held annually, when new designs are outdoored.

Practical notes: the listed contact phone is 0244378599. Meals are available for delivery on order, and liquid refreshments are available in the village; hotels are available in Ejisu and Kumasi, about 19 km away. From Accra, take the Accra-Kumasi road, turn right at Ejisu and drive 6 km to Bomfa Junction, turn left and drive 3 km, then turn right to Bonwire. Opening hours, tour prices and festival dates are not established by the available sources.