Kweku, one half of BloomBars’ djembe drumming duo extraordinaire, asked BloomBars to pass on the following information about a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Ghana!
Kristen and I are planning a trip to Ghana, hoping to leave in mid-February and return Mid-March of 2011. Our intention for this particular trip is to host a handful of our friends for a 10-day excursion, most likely in early March, and includes the following experiences:
Drum “camp” – a 3-4 day drumming immersion session, taking place in the Arts Center of Accra, in Kweku’s shop and on the nearby beach front, that would include two or three drumming sessions per day and an exploration of traditional Ghanaian and Malinke (djembe-centered) drums, rhythms, songs, and dances. Instructors would include Kweku and Kristen, as well as professional artists who have many years of experience teaching African, European, and American students at all levels. As an added bonus, each of our fellow travelers will have an opportunity to get a custom-made drum produced for them to take home!
- Also in Accra, you can Learn from talented batik and tie-die artists by shadowing them and their artistic process — would result in the production of original works to take back home; participatein cultural performances; shop, dine, see the sites see, and check out a few local night spots for “hip life” (Ghana’s original brand of music fusing high life and hip-hop) in the city.
- Travel to Kweku’s home village in N’kaw Kaw, the Eastern Region of Ghana (about a 3-hour drive from the arts center), and take part in a traditional drum and dance ceremony, along with other community events like a drumming workshop especially designed for women, a community clean up, time working with the community children, and a community dinner.
- Travel to Kokrobite, which is a beach-front community about an hour from the center of Accra and friendly to
tourists. It’s a great place for rest and relaxation, shopping, and more drumming practice!
- Travel to Cape Coast (3-hour drive from Accra), a beach area that hosts frequent cultural performances, and possible visit the Elmina Slave Castle and Kankum National Park famous for its canopy walk.
- Travel to other cultural destinations like a bead making factory, or the town where carvers create drums out of tree logs!
We know this sounds like a LOT for just 10 days. Our hope is to pare the list down after meeting with all of you in person to discuss what everyone’s personal interests are, while keeping in mind that we could easily create 4-5 of the above adventures in a 10-day period.
As for logistics, there are some important things involved in preparing for this trip. We plan to discuss them at length when we meet participants in person, but here’s a starting list:
- Travelers must obtain a visitor’s Visa to Ghana (not difficult to come by)
- Travelers must get vaccinations for yellow fever, and decide whether or not to take Malaria meds (keep in mind thatI did not take them when I went last year and I did not get malaria – I consistently wore a natural bug spray that worked like a charm – although I did get bitten a few times.
- Travelers must book their own flight to Accrs – we recommend doing so by mid to late November.
- Booking accommodations – there are 3 options for Accra, one for Kokrobite and one for Cape Coast. When we meet, we will give everyone a solid overview of the Accra options, and will do the booking ourselves in order to keep costs low.
- Travelers will be responsible for all but one meal per day.
IN SUM:
For a reasonable fee, our friends will not need to worry about travel expenses inside Ghana — we’ll be taking care of all transportation, will be treated to a daily meal, will be booked in the lodging of their choice, will have the option of having a personalized drum created for them, and will undergo a transformational musical, rhythmic, and cultural experience throughout the tour.
At this time, we are earnestly assessing all related costs in order to give our travelers a set fee that is fair and reasonable. By the time we meet in person, we will have a solid number for you.
So, the next step is for all of you to email us to say that you’re interested in going. We’ll email all our prospective travelers with a meeting date within the next two weeks. Please note that we chose early March with the hope that it will fall during spring break for some of our college students hoping to attend the tour.
Thanks so much, and feel free to send any further questions to us via email!
One love,
Kristin & Kweku
vibrationking(at)yahoo(dot)com
Drumming Up from Poverty
