Mim, Ahafo

'AHAFO means hunters. The land which Ahafo people occupy today, originally belonged to the Aowin.Abirimoro Akwojan, an Aowin Chief and his people were in control of Ahafo which was a forestland and almost uninhabited.

Sometime in the eighteenth century, whilst Asantehene Opoku Ware I was engaged in a war with the Akyem, the terrible news of Abirimoro's invasion of Kumasi reached him at the battlefield in

Akyem. Opoku Ware instantly dispatched Akyempimhene, Owusu Afřiyie and
Bantamahene Amankwa Tia to pursue Abirimoro & his  invaders.

The Akyempimhene accepted the request but he deputed his younger brother,

Hiahene Oheneba Sabin,  Nyinahinhene, Nkawie-paninhene and the
Buaso Odikro to pursue Abirimoro and his people. In like manner, Amankwa
Tia delegated the chief of Akwaboah - Brefo Apaw, Ofenano Barihene -
Gyedu Kumanin, and Assuonwinhene - Kofi Akyena.The chiefs of Akwaboa, Nkawie-panin,Nyinahin, Ofenano or Аmакуе Bari, Assuowin, Hiahene undertook the Abirimoro war and conquered AHAFO.The warriors chased Abirimoro and his forces across the Tano and Bia rivers to as far as the bank of river Manza in what is
now La Cote d'Ivoire. The war lasted three years.Asantehene Opoku Ware I, presented the newly conquered territory to the Chiefs as a gift.Each of them was asked to take care of or control the area he had conquered.The Chiefs settled people of Asante, Akyem and Denkyira backgrounds in Ahafo to perform various duties to the Asantehene and they the wing chiefs.The most outstanding of these duties  was hunting.Hence the name Ahafo (hunters) given to the Area.

Akwaboah Chief & his warriors were gifted with the land they conquered.The Chief & his warriors founded Mim. According to history, the warriors established their outpost in a section of the forest which was full of palm trees.They used the branches of the palm trees for shelter and referred to the area as 'Mem' or 'Mim' which is Twi word for palm trees. All the stool lands of Acherensua, Kenyase, Hwidiem,Goaso, Ayomso belong to the Mim/Akwaboah stools.Akwaboah is an ancient town near Kumasi. [9][10]

The People of Mim celebrate the Akwansramu Festival and this ceremony is usually held in December. Akwansramu is one of Ghana's many festivals that see attendance from people from all walks of life including the diaspora.

The Akwansramu is a staple of Ghana's colourful, vibrant and diverse cultural expression, bringing together people from all walks of life to celebrate themes of victory, harvest and gratitude in unity.[11][12][13]

Mim can be described as an averagely dynamic center for farming, trading and industrial activities.

Agriculture:

The fundamental occupation of residents of Mim is farming, which is cultivation of cash crops and food crops. The predominant cash crops grown in this area are cocoa and cashew.[14] Mim and its surrounding towns such as: Goaso, Bediako, Gambia No2, Kasapin & Bitre Ahenkro (Kwadwo Adaikrom) produce about a quarter of the foodstuffs that are sent to Accra and Tema.[8]

Industry:

The tropical forest reserves in this area serve as source of raw materials for the numerous timber companies in Mim. The Ayum Forest Products Limited formerly Mim Timbers, Mim Scanstyle Company Limited, Ocean-wood company limited, Supremo Wood processing co. Ltd amongst tens of timber firms located in Mim exist because of the abundance of timber in this area. However, the recent illegal chainsaw operations are fast depleting the forest reserves and are threatening the existence of these timber companies which provide hundreds of employment to the teeming population.[15][16][13][17]

Ayum Forest Products Ltd. (A. F. P. L)

The cashew plantations in Mim area also provide constant source of raw materials for the Mim Cashew and Agricultural products Ltd which produces the 'Mim Cashew Brandy'.[18][14][19]

Mim Cashew plantation

Mim Cashew Co. Main Entrance

Mim Cashew Plantation

Mim Swimming pool

One of the tourist sites in Mim is the Mim Bour or 'Mim mountains'. These Rocky Mountains are famous tourist attraction center in the Ahafo Region of Ghana. According to history, the paramount chief of Mim used to climb the Mim bour whenever he wanted to address his people, and it is also said that, from the top, he could see all the areas within his jurisdiction and even as far as Techiman and Kumasi. From the top of the Mim Bour, you have a plain view of the cashew plantation and surrounding areas.[20][13][21][3]

Tourists at Mim Bour

Mim Lake is another tourist attraction located off the Mim-Kenyasi road. It's about 1 km away north of the Mim township. This is an artificial lake where tourists and local people visit for leisure, canoeing and site seeing. This lake is also known as 'Anwomasu lake'.

Mim has several educational institutions including:

• Mim Senior High School
• Ghana Greentech Academy.[22]

• Media related to Mim (Ahafo) at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of mim, ahafo at Wiktionary