As part of events to mark National Chocolate Day, the Upper East Regional Directorate of the Ghana Tourism Authority, on Wednesday, February 14, held a brief ceremony at Rock Gardens Eco-Resort in a bid to promote the consumption of locally produced chocolate and to promote the resort as one of the attractions that should be of interest for site seeing and tourist.
The theme for this year’s Chocolate Day “Eat Chocolate, Stay Healthy, Grow Ghana with the sub theme; “Explore Ghana, Eat Chocolate” is aimed at promoting a particular attraction hence, the selection of Rock Gardens Eco-Resort.
The authority as part of encouraging the local consumption of chocolate, shared chocolate and chocolate products amongst the participants.
Chocolate Day, which was introduced in 2005 and coincides with the celebration of Valentine’s, is targeted at boosting the domestic consumption of Ghanaian chocolate and other cocoa-based products, promoting domestic tourism, and giving a healthy orientation to the celebration of Valentine’s Day.
As part of marking the day, a National Chocolate Week Celebration is usually launched with a renewed purpose to empower artisanal cocoa processors to take advantage of the new incentives within the consumption campaign to become more competitive to meet market demands
Located in Yorogo, a suburb of Bolgatanga, Rock Gardens Eco-Resort, offers the right environment for relaxation and draws visitors closer to nature.
The eco-friendly resort has available, a canopy walkway, various animals like monkeys, pythons, tortoises, and fish, and a play area designated for only kids which is cordoned off from the adults’ swimming pool and zone.
The rock-filled resort has been built with proper conservation of land.
Speaking at the event, which also had students of Gowrie Senior High School attending, the Regional Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Wisdom Ahadzi, appealed to residents of the region to visit various attractions in the region to promote domestic tourism.
“All that we are saying is that we have a lot of attractions as a region and we urge you to take time to visit all these attractions. So, we thought it wise to celebrate the day at Rock Gardens Eco-Resort. This is somebody’s effort and we want to encourage them and to help put the facility on the map so that when people come, they will not be lost of the attractions in this region.” He said while admonishing residents of the region to consume locally-made chocolate.
The Chief Executive Officer of Rock Gardens Eco-Resort, Dr. Asaa Sumaila Mohammed, explained that he decided to put up the facility in a manner that conserves the environment and gives it a touch of nature.
He added that people viewed him as someone with mental illness for purchasing rocks-dominated plots of land.
“I had a vision that there is a lot of land here and I saw the rocks and that prompted me to start buying the land here. People started calling me a madman because they could not understand what I wanted to do with the rocks but they never knew what I planned to do. So, that is what these rocks have become. A place that was used by people smoking marijuana is now an eco-friendly resort. Working in the field of conservation, I felt that I can’t just keep talking or teaching without practicalizing and I think it is a bigger vision”. He stated.
