I meet a coffin maker, Ghana
Travels to Ghana. Can we build beautiful? UnConference: Emergent Ventures.
I meet a coffin maker
Travels to Ghana
UnConference: Emergent Ventures
Design: Can we build beautiful, Samuel Hughes podcast
Accra, Ghana – Vibes and Reflections. I visited Accra in Ghana. What does a $2.5K GDP/Capita country feel like? (US is c.$85k and UK is $50K). The nominal GDP per capita in Ghana is around $2,500—1closer to $8,000 when adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP).
Accra is (I estimate) around double the Ghana national average. Annual income in Accra ranges from about $2,000 to $4,000. If you’re in Europe or the US, this looks poor. It shows a 10x to 20x+ difference in living standards.
I’m going to give you the feels of that.
First Impressions. Arriving at the airport, the bureaucracy is fairly smooth. Plenty of staff help direct you to the correct queues and check your documents. Staff check your yellow fever certificate, visa, and even take a high-income-nation-level-of-bureaucracy fingerprint scan.
The airport is clean. The toilets are functioning and clean. Then, a voice comes over the tannoy—not to announce flights, but to tell tourists they don’t need to pay for airport services — a warning not to be misled by fraudulent offers. My first sign that this is not Kansas, or London, any more.
I step outside into the buzz—people, noise, movement. The heat and humidity hit you. There’s Uber, mobile 3G/4G works, and you can speak to ChatGPT and get online. On the surface this feels pretty modern. This part feels richer than the stats.
The drive from the airport to the hotel was uneventful. Traffic was moving—but I notice that just a few minutes outside the city centre, the roads are in poor condition. (All my Uber drivers complained.)
Hotel: I stayed at a conference beach hotel in Accra. It had good working air conditioning (Daikin, a Japan leader, if you’re interested), few mosquitos and decent rooms—comparable to mid-range hotels in the UK or US. Staff were welcoming and helpful.
Hotel food was almost UK-priced. Rice, pork ribs, and goat stew were of decent quality. You wouldn’t make a special trip for the food—but I was happy to finish the plate off.
Makola Market. The next day, before the UnConference, I visited Makola Market. I love markets. On the way there, the Uber driver complained about corruption, road quality, and fuel prices. On a good day, he might make 400 cedi ($36) in fares net — costs could be 200–400 cedi. On a bad day, income might fall to 50–100 cedi. My 15-minute trip cost 45 cedi (~$4). Out the window, the view was like this.
Makola is dense—stalls, people, bustle. Some people are clearly on a mission. Others are lounging. Some are waiting. Plenty are socializing or hustling. This bus sits in the middle waiting for an overfull load before going.
There’s a constant ebb and flow of noise, sometimes rising from loud to very loud. The smells are ever present from spices, foods, machines, dust from the pungent to the moderately spicy. As a foreigner, you’re greeted with mostly-friendly glances—peppered with hustle.
(GPT) Makola Market, established in 1924 and later rebuilt after its demolition in 1979, has long been Accra’s main trading hub. Today it sprawls through the city centre, with thousands of traders selling everything from fabrics and beads to produce and household goods. Bustling and crowded: a window into the everyday life of Ghana’s capital.
This is 2 minutes walking through the market (My video).
If you know what you’re doing, there’s value to be found. Yet even then, many goods seemed of limited utility to me but presumably there was demand. I saw the same things again and again—especially in the electronics sections.
It reminded me of walking through Malaysian wet markets in the 1980s and 90s—but poorer. (Malaysia back then already had GDP per capita of $10K–$15K. Makola, today, is a little poorer still than the Malaysia of the 1980s).
Still, I’d say the walk through the market was an essential experience.
Jamestown: From Makola, I walked to the Jamestown lighthouse. I passed through some of Accra’s most historic—and economically disadvantaged—neighbourhoods. The infrastructure was poor and poverty is visible.
I more or less skipped the richer parts of Accra. Yes, London and New York have poverty too—but the contrast here was stark. I was struck by the noise, and the vibe of activity, but also the poverty: limited sanitation, cooking on coals, somewhat dirty (mostly plastic waste) environment, seemingly ramshackle housing; goats! This is 1min video snap of the walk, it doesn’t quite convey the vibe (but you can catch the goats at the end).
The challenges of waste disposal, sanitation, and sustainability were real here. These challenges felt very different from those in Europe or the US.
Towards the lighthouse there was an open space with football being played amidst half built structures and dusty paths.
This direct travel experience brought many observations and emotions to the surface.
If you’re curious about the world—its struggles and how to improve it—I recommend combining your reading with travel. Ideally somewhere you’ve never been.
Other observations:
This is what Gapminder can show you with some photos about a family in Ghana. Gapminder has a great range of what families around the world have and do.
This was a supermarket in the middle of town, mid to upscale. Most people still use the markets or more individual shops, it seems.
UK belly pork prices are GBP7.50 / USD$9.75 kg in Tesco; Aldi (low-end) can get GBP6.40 / kg for pork chops. Walmart pork belly (which seems to be a specialty cut so priced more?) is USD$14, I find standard ham at Walmart at USD$11 / kg.
The Ghana pork belly was 105 GHS which is USD$10 or GBP7.50 (mid right). The price is the same as in the UK. This surprised me and speaks to the challenges of food inflation and inflation generally in Ghana (and Africa). I’m sure you could find cheaper pork belly but it seems pretty close to UK prices.
The shelves were not too different in many respects from UK. Brands are different, choices a little less but the vibe was in the same ball park. I think I was expecting something a little more different, and a bit busier but I guess the prices would be so much better in the open market and more local shops. Other observations:
Everyone speaks English. But local languages like Twi, Ga, and Ewe are widely heard too.
Rhythm is everywhere — people seem naturally musical in dance, drumming, and song.
Many can balance and carry heavy loads gracefully on their heads.
Street life is vibrant, with markets spilling onto pavements and vendors weaving through traffic. There is hustle and bargaining everywhere.
Food is hearty and spice-rich, with a version of jollof rice and banku as staples.
Football is easy to discuss with locals
Christianity is highly visible, from church signs to gospel music in taxis. (Ghana is 80% Christian, 20% Muslim, mainly in the north). I was told gospel services are good; also you can go to voodoo services.
Ghanaians are warm and welcoming, often greeting with a smile or handshake.
Beach at Labadi Beach. I was more harassed on the beach than anywhere else in Ghana. There was a disheartening but not unexpected large amount of plastic waste. I’m told beach party / clubs are popular on Fri / Sat nights. The sea tide is too strong for swimming. The beach has some potential for tourism but will be hard to realise, I think many would prefer a hotel pool.
I went to Osu Castle.
(GPT) Osu Castle, also known as Christiansborg Castle, is a 17th-century coastal fort in Accra originally built by the Danes and later occupied by the Portuguese, Swedes, and British. It played a central role in the transatlantic slave trade, with the infamous “Door of No Return” marking the last point on African soil for many enslaved people. Under British rule it became the seat of government and continued to serve as Ghana’s presidential residence after independence until 2013, when the new Jubilee House was completed.
The guide round Osu castle was steeped in the history (a central dungeon for the slaves amongst other things), but the condition of the buildings was poor especially given the President lived here not too many years ago. The weight given to the British monarchy felt odd as well. There was a room where only Queen Elizaneth II, and then Prince Charles, had ever stayed in.
This is 1 min video of some pictures include the Queen’s room and the Door of No Return.
Fantasy Coffins. One last quirky highlight: I visited Eric Kpakpo, who makes coffins. I had a lovely chat and bought a souvenir small coffin. Here he (and he’s savvy, he changed his shirt so he could highlight his name and number, and his favourite Octopus coffin) is:
Eric continues a tradition of fantasy coffin-making in Accra (about 10 workshops around the area). The practice began in the mid-20th century as an evolution of palanquins used by Ga chiefs and priests. These evolved into elaborate coffins (shaped like airplanes, fish, coke bottles—anything symbolic of the person’s life and dreams) after the 1950s and became a recognized Ghanaian art form.
If you’d like a fantasy coffin—or even a custom-made seating stool—I’m happy to put you in touch with Eric. I promised him I’d help share his story and art.
As long-time readers know, I have a show about death, and my next iteration will definitely have to include this—and what type of coffin design I might want. (Coffins might cost us $3,000 approx; art would be more expensive, as better and longer-lasting wood is used.)
What do you think I should have? A coffin in the shape of a pen?
Here are a collection of snaps of the trip.
The main reason I was in Ghana was for the Emergent Ventures (EV) UnConference. (Here’s my blog on the Dublin one last year.)
If you have an idea that could improve the world, you should apply to EV. The EV focus is on people as well as the idea — in particular, if you are energetic, curious, and have a certain intensity and spark—and willing to challenge the status quo. There are now 1,100+ (and growing) EV winners, and we are a worldwide fellowship of doers.
Mercatus still believes in core classical liberal values in the modern day: equality, dignity, agency for all; pluralism; and liberty. But EV fellows are tough to pigeonhole and span widely across arts, science, innovation, business, and social projects.
Who are EVs?
We want to jumpstart high-reward ideas—moonshots in many cases—that advance prosperity, opportunity, liberty, and well-being. We welcome the unusual and the unorthodox.
Our goal is positive social change, but we do not mind if you make a profit from your project. (Indeed, a quick path to revenue self-sufficiency is a feature not a bug!)
We encourage you to think big, but we also will consider very small grants if they might change the trajectory of your life. We encourage applications from all ages and all parts of the world.
You should consider applying. This is Sam on the application process. While the blurb hints at
“ entrepreneurs and brilliant minds with highly scalable, "zero to one" ideas for meaningfully improving society.”
I would put emphasis on this phrase:
“Grants are awarded to thinkers and doers around the world”
I hosted an unofficial EV + Friends UnConference in April this year in London (see here for notes) and will likely host another one in London in April 2026. Stay in touch for details if you are interested.
What is an UnConference, and why am I so keen?
Long-time readers will know I’ve written about UnConference type formats before. Here with Civic Futures, with Home Education, and with Sustainability and Chatham House; and with the Official Dublin EV Unconference in 2024.
Important elements of UnConference are:
the content is generated by the participants
participants are encouraged to move between sessions
There can be other elements but these two ideas drive a rich event for participants and one where people feel more involved than with a traditional conference. A short blurb on the format here:
Unlike traditional conferences with pre-set agendas and passive listeners, an UnConference invites all attendees to participate actively.
Everyone is encouraged to propose topics, lead discussions, and contribute to conversations in a meaningful way.
While a conventional conference treats attendees like a passive audience to be entertained by the organisers, the UnConference format gives everyone a say by building something together.
UnConferences are choose-your-own-adventure. At any moment there will be multiple talks happening and participants can move between them.
The UnConference board is the centre of the event. The board is a large grid representing the schedule. The time slots start out blank. We fill them at the start of the day but they can change and combine throughout the time.
There are risks, if people feel constrained and don’t use their agency of choice; or when somehow you do not have a good mix of people, but I’ve never seen it fail.
Emergent Ventures UnConferences work at a high level because the participants are arguably even more agenetic than the average and every single attendee is doing at least one fascinating project, and in my interactions the norm was to have multiple amazing ideas and projects on the go.
I would describe Emergent Venture (EV) as a type of venture philanthropy where Tyler Cowen and team (Rasheed Griffith [my podcast with him here] – looking at Caribbean, LatAm, Africa diasporas; Shruti Rajagopalan – looking at India; Tyler also on Ukraine) bet on people (mostly) and their ideas (partly).
Another way of looking at this assembled talent is what they came up with to chat about. A non-exhaustive list of the sessions called are in the foot notes2.
The inter-meeting conversations are just as good. I learned about Uganda, South Africa and much about healthcare and start ups ideas. I was also part of a debate on where the line should be drawn or not on people’s right to end their own life especially in terminally ill cases with many discussants drawing on their own life examples.
This is my podcast with Samuel Hughes on planning and design. If you’re curious about the built environment, it’s worth a listen. Pairs well with my previous podcast with Hana Loftus.
Samuel Hughes is an editor at Works in Progress and an expert on architecture, urbanism, and planning.
“We treat age as the value, but often what people are really protecting is beauty—they just don’t want to admit that’s what matters most.”
We discuss the feasibility of mass-producing beautiful buildings through good materials and proportions, the decline of ornamented architecture, and why maintaining industrial skills matters for long-term infrastructure projects.
The conversation explores Japanese zoning and urbanism, the impact of culture and geography on city design, Berlin’s mix of rent control and street grids, and the idea of “gentle density.”
“Most individual buildings in Tokyo are pretty ugly, but the overall streetscape is often nicer than in Britain or America—urban form matters more than facades.”
Samuel also shares his views on greenbelt reform, the importance of mixed-use urban density, and how civic and institutional pride once shaped even the most mundane buildings.
“In the 19th century even pumping stations and hospitals were built to be attractive—today our institutions too often forget that civic pride shows in the architecture.”
We touch on underrated cities like Dresden and examine future solutions for Britain’s housing supply crisis.
“The real breakthrough will come when communities see that allowing development makes them richer—turning adversarial planning into a win-win.”
Finally, Samuel reflects on how policy research can meaningfully shape public infrastructure and urban planning.
Summary contents, transcript, and podcast links below. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to pods. Watch the video above or on YouTube.
Contents
01:02 Mass Producing Beautiful Buildings
01:43 The Decline of Ornament in Architecture
04:37 Tokyo’s Urban Design and Zoning
10:05 How Long Should Buildings Last? UK vs Japan
16:13 Philosophy, Beauty, and Emotions
25:53 Public Policy Trade-offs in Practice
31:41 Berlin: Rent Control and Urban Planning
36:32 Housing in Europe: A Historical Context
38:02 Modern Housing Markets and Trends
41:50 Rethinking the Greenbelt
44:40 Planning Authorities and Their Role
50:40 Overrated and Underrated Urban Ideas
1:02:03 Dresden: Lessons in Urban Reconstruction
1:05:03 The Future of Britain’s Housing Supply
1:08:40 Career Advice on Policy and Design
I really like the em dash although ChatGPT has destroyed it. I’ve checked some things with AI, so mistakes are possible, although they are more likely to be my mistakes. I am keeping my em dashes though.
Session list.
China in Africa and Latin America: Strategic partner or emerging challenge?
The Disconnect between Scientists and Policy Makers
Tell me your favourite children's story – Values for modern children
Towards an Economic History of Land
Georgism in Africa: From the Transvaal to Nkomo
Historically, the most vital news stories that shape the future are almost never spoken about today…
Japan did it in 50 years, When will you?
How Africa can skip the old playbook and lead the biotech century
We need more women in STEM (and stop forgetting that biology isn’t less important)
'Alexa' assisting surgeries in the operating theatre?!
Policy outreach in West African context
Progress studies in Africa
Humanity's role after AGI
Theranostics is the future
Armenian (Russians) in Africa
Is it important to have AI tools in African languages?
Why are economists so bad at selling their ideas? (And what to do about it)
Love for professionals + academics
Randomization in hiring
Why is the world getting less beautiful?
China: The future of Africa
AI in Africa (What governance policies are needed?)
AI will never replace flesh-and-blood teachers
What does Mercatus do outside of EV?
Trade and/or aid?
Leading a coup d'état
Empathy bandwidth
Digital Alzheimer’s
Algorithm of the absurd
What should we teach in universities?
You hate your doctor… Why?
Ideas on improving health in Sub-Saharan Africa
How to empower Africa’s youth
Russia in Africa
What will people be paid to do once AI does so much? Things? A post-meaning world? Will it?
Igniting ambitions in Africa