After a Massive Fire, Traders at Ghana's Kantamanto Market are Forging Ahead
Traders and creatives who rely on Kantamanto Market say the fire will set them back months but they are finding ways to bounce back from it.
A general view of people trying to salvage items from the burned down secondhand clothing market at Kantamanto in Accra, Ghana, on January 2, 2025. The fire at the Kantamanto market began in the early morning hours, destroying a large part of the area and displacing thousands of traders.
William Kesse was asleep when the Kantamanto Market fire began on January 1. When he woke up, prompted by numerous missed calls and text messages, and made it to the site of the incident, his four shops and the goods in them had been incinerated. "On December 31, I'd brought goods worth over 30,000 Ghana Cedis ($2,034.12) to my shop," Kesse says, providing an idea of what the fire cost him and his business. "I have boxes of sneakers in my warehouse; I've lost them. I've lost over 800 pairs of shoes."
In the early hours of January 1, Kantamanto Market, Ghana's busiest market and one of the biggest commercial hubs for secondhand clothing, was ravaged by a fire. The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, although preliminary investigations by the Ghana National Fire Service point to “faulty electrical connections" or arson. It burned down shops and destroyed warehouse goods, leaving thousands of traders like Kesse devastated.Kesse runs a sneakers business and has run his stores for five years. Like many people in Kantamanto, Kesse and his family have a long history with the market. In the early 1980s, Kesse says his grandmother was among the first traders to settle at the Kantamanto market. "I was born just around there," Kesse tells OkayAfrica. "So I've been here since I was a child, and after school, I decided to start something, so I [first went] to work with my mom."
Some of Kesse's relatives, including his mother (who took over his grandmother's fabrics business), his aunties (who specialize in womenswear), and his younger brother (who also runs a fabrics shop) have made Kantanmanto their home and have been affected by the fire in one way or another.
A creative heart
According to the Or Foundation, over 30,000 people rely on Kantamanto for their livelihood. Yet the impact of the market extends beyond its immediate surroundings, as it provides jobs for unemployed young Ghanaians and plays a crucial role in the Ghanaian creative industry.
Sena, an Accra-based photojournalist and producer who has worked on various stories about Kantamanto, including a recentNetflix documentary on corporate waste, says the market is a strong creative and economic ground for young Ghanaians. "Unemployment is high amongst young people in Ghana, so when you go to a place where they are doing it for themselves, not waiting for handouts, being innovative, building businesses, and taking the market space into different spheres, you can't help but be inspired."
Alhassan Fatawu, a stylist and photographer, says Kantamanto is "the center of his work." Before the fire, he owned a shop where he ran a thrift and styling business, providing clothing to other stylists. As a photographer, Kantamanto is one of his primary subjects. Through his documentation of everyday life in Kantamanto and the neighboring Old Fadama, where he grew up, Fatawu has developed an artistic language and found a crucial source of inspiration. "The fire burned my shop to ashes. I couldn't take out a pin," Fatawau says. "All the thrift finds I've made, all the materials I've sourced, most of my creative stuff were there, and everything burnt."
While many areas of the market are being rebuilt, the Ghana Fire Service has cautioned against hasty reconstruction. Many traders, however, claim that the financial and economic losses from the fire will set them back for months. "We hope that within three months, everything will return to normal and people can come, but this is the main question," Kesse says. "Are people coming to work? How are people coming? Because people have lost money." Kesse cites an example of a young money transfer operator who left 27,000 cedis ($1,850) in a shop razed down by the fire. "A 22-year-old has lost this amount of money. Where is she going to get the money back for this business?"
Moving forward
Organizations like The Revival and The Or Foundation have steadfastly supported the traders affected in Kantamanto. Following the incident, both organizations established donation links, and the Or Foundation committed an additional $1 million towards recovery efforts. Additionally, on-site support has included medical and welfare services for workers clearing debris and for traders rebuilding their stores. "The support for traders has been encouraging," Fatawu says. "Politicians have come to express their sympathy with money, and there is ongoing data collection for the people in the market for direct relief regarding funds. There's been a supply of free wood and cement for the stores to rebuild their shops."
Kwamena Boison, Co-founder of The Revival, says Kantamanto "has been of tremendous impact because of the philosophy and the vision we stand for [which is] community building and creating impact in the global textile conversation through our community." Their presence on the ground is a natural and necessary response to a community integral to their vision.
Traders like Kesse hope that in the future, provisions such as insurance packages can be made available for traders in Kantamanato. "We don't have any insurance package," he says. "I asked once, and they said insurance won't insure a wooden structure."
Ultimately, bringing Kantamanto back to life is important for many reasons. As Sena puts it, "It's not just about the clothes lost in the fire. It's about losing all that creativity, too."
Below are some of the ways you can support ongoing relief efforts at Kantamanto Market:Donate to Organizations
Foundations like the Or Foundation, fighting against textile waste, have committed $1 million to relief efforts at Kantamanto. The foundation is currently working with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, which has coordinated the movement of trucks and is managing the debris from the market. The foundation is also on the ground, providing medical and emergency assistance to the many people there. You canmake donations here to support its work and its goal of assisting traders with direct relief funds.
Volunteer
If you're in Ghana, you can offer support by offering your time to help the traders rebuild their stalls or remove the debris.
Direct Donations
You can also make direct donations to individual vendors who have been affected. If you know someone who has a store in Kantamanto, this is the best time to extend financial support or see how else you can help. People at the Kantamanto arena could use welfare and even more medical assistance.
Stay Updated
You can also help by amplifying and sharing reports like this or following organizations like theOr Foundation andThe Revival, which provide real-time updates on the situation.
