DZODZE ::: Volta Region ::: Ghana

Mama Agbaledzokpui brought the seedlings from Kovie which is located in the present day Republic of Togo.

Through the efforts of Mama Agbaledzokpui the seedlings spread to the other parts of the town and the surrounding villages. The palm tree became a very economical tree for the people.

From the palm tree, we can get the nut which is used in preparing palm nut soup, red oil 'Dzomi', the tree itself can be tapped for palm wine 'Deha' and the palm wine can be distilled to local gin 'Akpeteshi', the fronds can also be used in making baskets and other things.

In recent times however, the Chiefs 'Torgbuiwo' and their subjects realised that the palm tree was becoming scarce therefore there was the need to revive the cultivation of this economical tree and also to put Dzodze back on the map as a major palm tree cultivating town. In 2001, the Palm festival 'Deza' was instituted to be celebrated annually on the last Saturday of September. Before this day, other activities such as cleaning the town, beauty pageant, carnivals, soccer tournaments among others.

First and foremost, the festival is an attempt to remember the past glory of the people of Dzodze in the area of palm tree cultivation. It is also an attempt to encourage the people of Dzodze to cultivate more palm trees because of it's economic importance.

Apart from these reasons, the festival is also serving as a platform for all traditional leaders and their divisions to showcase their rich cultural heritage. During the festival there are a lot of dancing and drumming by various cultural groups in the town.

More so, the festival has been bringing the people living outside the town back to the town. Indeed, the festival is promoting cordiality and friendship among the people of Dzodze. It is also an avenue for the chiefs 'Torgbuiwo' and the people to consider developmental issues like building of more schools, public toilet system for the town, street lighting among others.