The Formalisation And Professionalization Of Instrument-Making In Africa

The first edition of the IBR project was held in South Africa in 2016 when participants from across the African continent took part in a series of intensive training sessions, where they were equipped with the skills to build their own instruments – namely the marimba, dulcimer guitar and umakhweyana. Since then, many of the participants have gone on to make and sell their own instruments, or train others in an artisanal practice that is being lost to modernisation and mechanisation. The Music In Africa Instrument Building and Repair project is funded by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). It is implemented in partnership with Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut and Kaya FM.