Wooden signs point down well-maintained paths into the bush at the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary in the Volta Region near Hohoe. The trails wind into the bush where hundreds of Mona monkeys spy on visitors from high above in branches. The sanctuary allows tourists to directly interact with Mona monkeys.
Before the sanctuary was established in 1993, the local population hunted the Mona monkey for its meat. But now, the monkeys are revered and protected and the sanctuary provides a stream of revenue into the area. Foster Asempa, one of the four tour guides at the sanctuary, said that Tafi Atome generates about 10,000 cedis for the local community a year. And that money goes to fund development projects in Tafi Atome, where 1,500 people live.
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