Taa Taa Toddler Project

Market Play Spaces

In Ghana, the public markets are a female dominated space. As a result, a large number of children between the ages of zero to five spend a significant part of their early childhood in the formal and informal public markets with their mothers or primary female caregivers. Mallam Atta (Malata) and Nima are examples of large, well-established markets in Accra, with hundreds of young children who spend up to 10 hours a day, individually or in small groups, around their mothers' stalls. It is known that stimulation in the earliest years of life has a direct impact on the development of young brains and the markets are not child friendly, lack developmental structures, and can be hazardous.

In Accra we addressed these major concerns by creating early childhood micro-play spaces in two public markets with the participation of the vendor community and local authority. With the support of market leaders, we focused on Malata and Nima as test sites so the lessons would be transferable to other markets.

You can see how these projects were brought to life in the markets through the photos below.