Our History
The project was initiated in 1996, on traditional sacred grounds of the Ga tribe in Accra, under the name Akuma Village. Three friends – a Polish-American and two Ghanaians – discovered a beautiful and serene place, and had the idea of creating a community cultural center where people of all races and cultures could meet and learn from each other.
When they first came to the site, they saw the enormous potential of this unique place virtually destroyed by ecological disaster. The beautiful beach was being used as a public dump and toilet, the cliffs destroyed by pollution and erosion. It took vision and a lot of hard work to transform the place and create a tropical garden in the area that 100 years ago had been a rainforest and had gotten completely deforested in the last 50 years.
From 1997 to 2007, Akuma Village was a successful live music and traditional drumming and dancing center, health food restaurant, charity organization with free film shows, library, and place for yoga and meditation classes.
In 2007, the ownership structure changed, with Phoenix Michael Thompson, the new majority shareholder, bringing in new capital, new ideas, and hands-on direction. The place was remodeled and rebuilt, with the more emphasis on innovation than tradition. The name Akuma Village was still used to describe the location, but a name The Rising Phoenix Magic Beach Resort was added.
New director Phoenix (a nickname!) always points out that the place is not named after him, rather both he and the project are re-named after the same mythical bird.
What has not changed is that the project remains a growing and exciting place. It continues to serve and enhance the community and the world at large in many different ways, such as providing rehearsal space for young dancers. You can watch them
Our Location
We’re located at the beach behind Ghana Telecom and Anglican Church beside Baden Powell House, right off High Street; Ushertown, Accra.
