Djembes

Have you ever heard of a djembe (pronounced gem bey) or heard one played, or better yet ~~ played one?

I had this unique experience today during our after school program. The drums are complete works of art. They are made in western Africa by hand. The base is cut from the trunk of a tree and then carved by hand. The skin is from a goat. You can see the imprint of the goat's spine on the skin that is stretched taught on top of the djembe. To be authentic you should line up the goat's spine image with your spine.

The sound is very primal and extremely beautiful. I was transported to another place for an hour. The best part of this whole experience was to learn that this whole process of drum making and selling is completely fair trade. An entire community in Africa benefits from the beautiful workmanship of the finished djembe.

Find one~play one~ maybe even ~~ buy one.