on west africa's atlantic coast the former british colony of ghana became infamous for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and also for its abundant reserves of gold which is why the english called it the gold coast. the country is rich in role materials such as oil which was recently discovered in the region and above all coca. ghana is the world's 2nd biggest producer of coca despite the plentiful resources they rarely benefit got names themselves. results fulness has become a necessity for some people white gold has replaced yellow they're not aiming to get rich the many trying to survive. gonna means warrior king a fitting name that reflects the strength and resilience of its people. but i want to buy a whole basket. they face a new battle every day. at dawn on lake bone time the knowledge is daunting fish will reservoir in the wild water taxes put on to the banks. 3 times a week a transport isolated villages to the big markets in the town of tom parker. this particular account seems to sense the getting on the boat isn't going to be an easy tox. like then i'm going to sell my car at the market you know that way to. pay for the cow but i've got no choice. but cal would have undoubtedly appreciated a ram but a ride in the fresh air is bound to calm it down. to the next bit of the boats may be primitive but they are vital for the region's economy without them farmers would be trapped on that island so. you. know. you know. that moron that i'm not out. to give the man my basket so he can bring it to me. and let up. and. coming up we'll talk about how everyone gets on to such boats any way they can they have no choice the ferries had too big to dock at the small patches of land although few of the passengers know how to swim i mainly use the life jackets as power songs. but everything's fine the lake is like a mill pond. where only watching the boats dropped joe's if the captain gets as much onto it as he can. i go i think i don't know actually how many people and animals there are my counted for cows and for sheeps. what are the max moments about 1015 comes and the maximum number of people i would say is 50 to 150. but it's very dangerous. if we're unlucky and a storm hits when we're in the middle of the lake. and it's really dangerous because. i. have. a 2 hour journey the water taxi arrives at top a market for the animals getting also a boat is a much more pleasant experience and getting off. a. lot of. the passengers are badly off the boats when it heads back i want to cross the lake . at the top the market the center of spices mingles with the aroma of freshly fried fridges. it's hard to ignore the smell of petrol and fish. and if there's pop array of sense one in particular is missing the center rived from a fruit founded every market stall the cocoa fruit at santa doesn't omf old until it has been processed. ghana is the world's 2nd biggest producer of coca hundreds of trucks transported across the country before it's exported all over the well. but most locals like biko have never tasted it. all people in this village go all because obama it's. all for example if you come out like. mommy is in a room with. no one you can see some of the blip in. the mall go by. their juggling of all they do this if the middle be involved. in. the eco shuttles between dozens of warehouses and on the road he wants for the state which buys almost all of the coca produced by the region's farmers. who. i'm going to kill is the reason i bought. 65 percent of that is that by this. one. cocoa sales represent 10 percent of ghana's gross domestic product but the locals rarely see any of the prop. it's in that day to day lives there and. i think. there's a. the roads leading to the warehouse is a rundown. ready to go because there's a lot in that god jews very nice place if you want to get to a dime and it would blow because. they would like to see if you don't do guard dogs . must be look like because why do you think. it's a vicious cycle if he's late delivering the load he will lose part of his salary. in the heart of the forest the coker harvesters have to get a move on. i did very very. well thought of the season is coming to an end i need to gather the remaining ponds the fruit that contains the cocoa beans before they rot on the trees. when only shane could do the work as well as these men can but harvesting is an arduous task . they extract from faults with machetes which i nicknamed go to hell this. 8 is the pride of this country. this is the law. and i'm going to tell you the proceeds the best quality. other countries produce cocoa. but it's just not as good as in ghana where you go not just from here the cocoa will go to. iraq i mean i want to there all had to europe measurable enough but i don't know what its final destination will be now this enough to walk. or bike. or walk. around 15 families from the cocoa trees in their small forest but in the past few years production levels have dropped. the single crop of coca has sucked all the nutrients out of the soil the trees growing old and there's no money to replace them nowadays every penny counts. the farm is situated close to the border with togo geoff sells his cocoa beans to whichever country bids highest. and to. that there is the border with toll roads around a kilometer from there it's the worst this year though some december togo is bringing one euro $0.37 a kilo gun owners paying one euro 16 friend but at the end of the month togo's price had dropped to $1.00 euro $22.00 and gone as promised growth so was the sell to go. on this is a little done up before. i'm going to load it onto a motorbike i'll take a minute oh my god why you putting it on a motorbike 100 years there's no pass there's no road there just tracks. there's a road suitable for cars. and on the other ferry dangerous there are lots of accidents. normally the government should have built bridges but there are no bridges us so if you're not careful you'll have an accident and you don't think you're going to fall but then you do sometimes not a lot up the truth about them it's about the it's. not going to go with the trip to the town on these old motorbikes can be very risky broken arms or legs are common although jeff's team hasn't suffered any fatalities han't. more room recently maxwell was not so knocking he died in a car accident as he was delivering banks of cocoa beans to the town. his aunt precious is bringing his body back to the village in a coffin shaped like a coke ipod as a gesture of honor. funeral singing gonna fall from morbid to fast. death you seen nasserism and as the gateway to eternal life it is cause for celebration. believe in the often life it's important for families to it's. love and respect for the deceased to ease their journey to the other side. sometimes burials are larger affairs just like the one today. that the whole village is taking part. 6 in the women prepare a traditional dish of corned topped with a spicy sauce. to . the it may seem shocking to some the body is dressed in finery and put on display before it is placed back in the coffin. was dead. while the. maxwells family firmly believes that he has simply moved on to another life in one form or another he will be more powerful than those still living so each of them comes to talk to him to win his favor i've. got a safe journey you'll be reunited with your brother. you know i said with everyone that you'll be welcomed with open arms. oh child will you do in your next life. after all i did for you you left me. by the way if that's true then remaining ready for. everybody back you face. serious thinking. or not they will have to believe. that this is a young guy. that how to form them can make. you can see you can stand. preserved in a morgue for 4 months his family paid the equivalent of $300.00 euros for the coffee and an enormous sum for people here. to scout some schoolchildren drive him around final sendoff. that often extent. because the fight is going to fall from anything that is going to have that how might that how did that found. her there by the whole. family. the ones without mentioning them would have that not only were they aren't they. after a 2 hour long ceremony the coffin is taken to the cemetery and. they were. parked up the candidate of. 7 the polling company to maxwell's final resting place where his coffin is again welcomed with scenes of joy so he can begin his new life in happiness. through the combination nothing chanting incense and beating of drums the burial of ashes his nephew is a frenzied affair. it's the wrong way to turn him this way. 7 on the plantation away from the chaos of the burial jeff and his men head off to town to sell some of their last remaining bags of coke. the 10 men transporting 650 kilos of cocoa beans. none of them have a driver's license in any case navigating through the bush isn't something taught in driving school. it's a 50 kilometer long journey and all the drivers are alert they want to survive this journey. 2 hours across rough terrain take a toll on my old motorbikes. fit enough. to live there's a guy got to live your shift broken because the road is so bumpy. i'm gonna go out cannick and jaska. america in such bad shape it broke or is it because i got to step on the sign on for this if there is that's just the kind of thing we have to order up with your shoes on the average reserve on the. motorbike is back on the road they will have to put some of their profits from selling the cocoa towards the repair. the group is hoping to on around $100.00 euros which would make 10 euros passion. they've reached the final hurdle but it's not an easy one quality control carried out by the uncompromising joseph who buys cocoa for the government he's the one who sets the prices. messy. i want you to get google the days of the if the day is good if this 2nd bite if you don't look good then all is not that i have to date. today joseph appears to be very satisfied with the quality he pays jeff's team 200 euro 100 more than they were hoping for. with its massive deposits of minerals and oil ghana could be very rich but its economy still relies mainly on farming and fishing. making a living in the sanctus is far from easy many call on higher powers to help them get by. to get out of the lord we have come to our place of work this morning make your blood fall upon us and protect them said it was the lord mayor destroy karma from evil spirits from india i'm a. mere earth's over their. budget my god people can start it's over there where the birds are iraq. oh i was also out of here in direct competition with other boats so we have to cast our nets before they do i do not know about that there are naga i do what i. gotta have one of them has already started fishing oh they're talking their nets too hard. they're too desperate. the crew had better hurry and 200000 boats are all competing off the conning coast as a consequence fish stocks have steadily 25 the years. of. little while and the one who has. no load time who. was a low level robot to go get a move on. you don't want to return home empty handed ringback. you want to. you're going to go out if you don't work you won't get paid about about. half a manual is the quartermaster otherwise known as the head of the crew his job is to keep his men motivated. was as i really. ringback never really thought about the part that your. lover oh. definitely looking. for. a really long. oh no no no no no let me. find out are not. very up so we have time to recast the net once more. we're out of well go. fishing one make these man millionaires of course around a 100 kilos at the most mainly just small fish. the methods of some captains who use dynamite and pesticides to turn quick profits the 4th biggest fish to retreat to deeper waters. dozens of women keeping an eye on the horizon. but they're not waiting for the hospitals to return from sea. that fishmonger's. would you need to be left home in the morning and gather here to wait for the fisherman to come back it's the only work we can do to feed ourselves it also means i can send my children to school and i knew that he didn't but i'm your views. oh. they're bound to be disappointed none of the 15 separate times with an impressive. bottle of the fishmongers begins because there isn't enough fish to go around. i want to buy the whole basket i'll get you know i want to basket for 2 eyes i want fisherman i want some smelt. that he was surprised how much he was sending them for . oh. i love you i see why i always haggle when we buy. the fishermen give us a price and we negotiate if they say $100.00 days or just 15 out they say $200.00 we said a 100 grand on how this was that. after all what the heck is that my basket you're filling up i've got i had to fill it up to the brim. not you. i'm going to smoke some of them and the others will be sultan driving the sunnah them up no ice you then sell them at the markets. in my lot i mean for. smoking and salting the fish prevents it from having. to be refrigerated the fishmongers can preserve it in this way for a week maybe more. that's why salt is vitally important in africa ghana has enjoyed a good reputation for its salt since the 8 century. i . drivers who transport cocoa and those who transport salt shanta same treacherous routes i think. i'm. gonna so-called white gold is in demand and sold across the african continent i. know of. no luck. if. i want to load up 2000 bags of salt x x 50 to. keep a close eye on the go yet because of hers yaba something about how missing i have to replace a. lot of the i've got to. watch out not one. though it's a dangerous trip sometimes robbers jump onto the truck and steal a good many of the roads bump and you have to slow down there and climb out of the truck. but george has no choice he has to drive slowly on these poorly maintained roads. i. believe. george is taking this delivery eastwards to the needs 200 kilometers he and his truck have been dancing to the. them of the potholes as he puts it. don't go so young we were dancing at a party because of the growth at work i was answering at the wheel people like you got 3000 who were out that's because you got roads are so badly damaged on down through rock up your number that nothing. most coastal residents make a living from salt production. but that everywhere you look for salt even when the women you dig down into the ground they find salty about it but the dead. soldiers one of the rare edible minerals found in abundance and it's an unlimited resource that helps people living on the coast to survive. just because there's a lot of it doesn't mean it's easy to harvest. i think. i've gotten out of kids the men who delegate and share out the work and it's us women who have to dig for the salt. we're told on your own limited no i doing it themselves because it's hard work in the morning out but not knowing that you're no work like there are you. know i mean also it's us women who have to do it. i mean i'm. not. clear. if you can do this all with your bare hands to get covered and so on as well all go all. in a file that's why mine are in such a bad state i use this tool to help. that gets me out of the wood and nails to break down the salt crystals. that i've worked collecting salt for 20 years. it's a really tough job. i have awful leaks in my pain so i have a bad back when i'm out but. my feet are crack down hard. on my. work. day to try. and they are ruthless. that they're fed i want nice looking salt or to be able to resell it i have to spread it out and examine it so i thought if it doesn't look good i won't be able to sell it for the best price. and you know i can't be mixed up with any scent. so i didn't want to endure this and mixes with the salt. but i will do. so in this one euros. i said i'd sell it for $200.00 no that's too much that of how much would you pay for it i'll get real $100.00 city no money no no deal oh well i deal oh yeah oh come on please. i'm not compromising. my sources nice and white it's what the times i heard people just on buy anymore i'll take it for one today but not this. 1120 isn't enough. i'll turn on them. oh do not yesterday someone bought it for 150 no line no one question here don't agree i'll go buy somewhere else ok all right i'm happy today my children and i will be able to eat we'll have 1st comics flying. over she bought everything off me and i have money to count up how back here's the money you thank you for buying my salt may god bless you and protect you on your journey back. to. the equivalent of 21 year old the money will last and her 2 children a week any animal she can catch a supplement to their meals. hell for much about this is my house it's where i live all my riches are here. because you know. who a demo will make everything must. with my own hands these buckets are mine. whether i can get my cigarettes to one side for funerals. or actually we look at that now we shall. now show that there are right now showing hands are damaged from the hard work i do dos. is starting to look like the hands of a leper. now it's a sad feeling. but john always tries to keep a smile on her face her she says is you can't wear down an x. by slicing for nonis. in other words anything is possible with a bit of willpower and not something that can names appear to have an ample supply no matter how obvious the task. george and his are systems have now been dancing in the truck. through it but i like my job. i was a pest and. my dad taught me to drive the bike on my bike and driving since i was young. when i was 12 i could already drive been the gonna vote mccain a fossil i republished molly nigeria easy area. all these years of driving have taught george patience lots of it especially when it comes to crossing borders. about this that we have to go and check in. here george and his assistant arrived in a flower a town on the border with togo. to. evolve it did i say customs officers will check the goods dishes that are alike and they want to check their stuff hasn't caught off and won't make people say if it was a yellow one if it. was held up as a. george takes his place among the hundreds of other trucks waiting to be inspected some of been stuck here for weeks the customs officers work at their own pace as drivers wait patiently to have along it made tank everything will get to where it needs to go to get. it. back in the cocoa plantation jeff is also preparing to go to tokyo he's located much closer to the border and so he's making the journey on foot. with the full it looks like you know. such as. these are the last few bags i'm going across the border i need some c.f.a. francs that's a currency managed in the village i want to go to i needed that is that i'm taking the last few bags to say about them this year the quality of the cocoa isn't good it will be spoiled or the rain that ruined all the cocoa that's a cool so that. these cocoa beans in and good enough to be sold to khanaqin buyers but in turn go jeff as a trader who doesn't scrutinise goods to foreign aid. he . said they don't get them to most of the villagers an hour's walk away carrying the cocoa on our heads that. this is when we arrive at the border will cross certain fed to the front. for the cocoa carriers it's a far from gentle stroll. around 30 kilos oh man. so was i once i saw this in a little restaurant marks the border that i'm going to have crossed the border but it's gonna do ago and now we're in total so once you cross it you're into it with the wall so no i've made it and i this is. oil gold and other mineral resources could make ghana one of the world's fastest growing economies. instead gone hands described that country as a sick child. who has only recovered because of the tenacity only 12 followers. buster and the fires that devastated human and natural environments alike. how are the people fairing now one