plus Kath's usual ramble about Kafountine life with pictures :-)
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UK and France Workshops - Festival Kora Sessions
Kora-making Changes - Kafountine News
Little School Roof Appeal - What's On
As one of my key skills is procrastination, there’s nothing like End Of Year accounts to encourage me to write a newsletter instead! I always seem to be waiting for something to finish so I can include it but no more! Today is the day I send the newsletter, unless it's tomorrow...
This painting and collage is by a local artist we support in Kafountine, called Malang. We have watched his own style develop over the years. We often lend him the money to get started each year as good quality art materials are relatively expensive, but essential.
Plenty of opportunity to start or continue to
learn the kora this year
SOAS Summer course
At University of London in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) there is a kora workshop in the evenings of 13-17th June, taught by Kadialy Kouyate - check out the details here
OUR UK WORKSHOP 2022
After a two year gap, courtesy of 'You Know What' we have found a venue for our UK workshop this year. Our previous venue, the lovely Cwm Maddoc Barns, couldn't host us in August and as we struggled with the weather every year we decided we really needed to find somewhere with more indoor space for teaching and practice! So to completely change things around for this year we have headed to the South East of England and are holding a long weekend 11th-14th August at Sadeh Farm, near Orpington in Kent. There is limited space for camping and campervans, but two comfortable 4-bed rooms, each with ensuite, have been reserved. The food looks great (always an important factor for us...) and we're looking forward to seeing old friends and new. Non-residential places too.
Arrivals from 2pm with a gentle start with the emphasis on ensuring everyone has what they need for the weekend and for us to establish who needs what in terms of teaching and learning. Accompanied by tea and cake :-) Then two full days of learning at your own pace, with our usual mixture of group and individual tuition. Sunday morning for most people will be recapping and ensuring that can carry on learning and playing after the workshop. The hard core element will be squeezing a bit more information into their brains and digits before lunch! To book you can go through the website or just email Kath
FRANCE WORKSHOP DATES 2022 and 2023
The week-long residential workshop in the south of France this year is 7th-14th September and almost full. Two places have become available as some students have changed plans and are visiting us in Senegal for Josh's workshop in January (yep that one is already full, sorry!)
So for this September at Mas de Jammes we have one bed available in the shared upstairs room in the main house, and the mobile home has a large lounge that can be used as another bedroom. Contact Kath by email or send her a voice message on Whatsapp +447758616773 if you would like one of those places.
It is a beautiful venue and we are really good a creating a relaxed learning environment, so we have students come back year after year. Our workshops are like reunions where there are always new people to welcome into the clan! The cost is 525€ with a discount of 50€ for returning students. This includes 7 nights shared accommodation, tuition, loan of a kora if needed and all meals except evening meals which are an optional 10€ per night. Vegetarian options always available.
SEPTEMBER 2023 dates are set as 9th-16th September. That one is running Saturday to Saturday for a change. Since we first started workshops in France in 2013(!) we chose Wednesday starts because flights were cheaper midweek but that no longer really applies. I don't think I've ever planned a workshop this far ahead, and Adam has come out in a rash but I'm sure it will help many people plan their holidays. The evening meal prices will be going up to 12€ per night in 2023 but we will keep the main workshop price still at 525€ if at all possible. If you book and pay a deposit for a place on the 2023 workshop before the end of this year you will definitely get that price. We've already had some bookings for this so if you know you would like to come please tell me and pay a small deposit to secure your place. I will be advertising it more widely later, but at the moment I'm letting existing students know.
FESTIVALS AGAIN!
So pleased that we can all meet in a field somewhere :-) We'll be at WOMAD in our usual place in the Arboretum, running 8 sessions a day for three days and aiming to teach the basics to over 500 people again...crazy, absolutely crazy but wouldn't miss it for the world! Couldn't be done without our wonderful team of teachers though :-)
TRIBAL EARTH 2022
After our own workshop in Kent 11-14th August, we 'll be carrying on down to Tribal Earth, 18th-22nd August a lovely family friendly festival, near Lewes in East Sussex - for us it is so lovely and chilled!
KAFOUNTINE NEWS
We now spend at least 8 months a year at our place in Kafountine, and are lucky enough to be able to just pop back to Europe (thankfully that word does still include the UK) for family, friends, festivals... and the food! We have a great diet in Kafountine, very fresh, healthy and tasty, with fresh fish caught locally every day, Casamançais mango vinegar, local cheese from Sedhiou and wonderful peanut oil from Touba, but we also both really appreciate the delights and huge variety of European food from the Great British Biscuit to French cheeses and a bewildering array of vegetables, as well as the all important chocolate!
Stop press! We're in National Geographic travel pages in an article about Senegal as a holiday destination, by journalist and travel writer Emma Gregg who visited us earlier this year.
One of the wonderful things about our place (which for the uninitiated is almost 7 hectares of West African bush, with a few little houses at the end of sandy tracks) is the birdlife. So much so that it inspired regular guest Roger de Wolf and semi-resident and artist Trevor Pollard to create a beautiful photographic book The Kora Workshop Bird Spotters' Guide. We have a copy here, but at only £13.22 why not buy one for yourself, with the profit going to The Kora Trust (see below)
WOVEN WALLS AND THATCH
Over the years, in addition to the three rooms at the main house, we have developed two eco lodges that have proved very popular. They both have a private shower and compost toilet, are set in their own gardens, with seating, hammock, and tea and coffee making facilities.
We are fully booked from 7th to 24th January 2023 for Josh's workshop, and other guests will be booking their favourite eco lodges soon, with late December, January and February being the most popular months.
Eco1 is big enough to take a single bed as well, so suitable for a family, or very good friends! Eco2 is actually the same size but round, so not so convenient for the extra bed.
We also have a little house in the garden for work exchange volunteer(s). The place is taken for this season but if you fancy spending 2023-2024 in Kafountine with us, get in touch.
They are beautiful, light and airy and we're really please with how they have changed over the years, gradually improving, feeling luxurious yet simple.
We've added a tiled practice area in the bush plus there is a small sewing/electrical workshop with a flat roof, so now we have a roof terrace in the garden.
Exploring further afield
We regularly take guests who like the idea kayaking in the mangroves, taking a picnic lunch with us. To get to Elingtangine where we hire the kayaks is a bumpy journey in a "trois roues" - a motorbike with a trailer attached. Then wading out through a little or a lot of the mud, depending on the tide. Washable shoes that are easily removable are best - as going barefoot is usually much easier. Hilarity often ensues when someone finds a deep section and their leg sinks up their calf. There is a firm base though - it isn't quicksand!
We have extended that to camping as an option, the main issue is taking enough drinking water and making sure we can light a fire to cook supper. Keeping everything dry is the next challenge so bring any dry bags you have! Adam and I have just come back from two nights in our favourite spot, tranquil bliss among the mangroves.
Much further afield
We have been taking guests over to the National Park at Niokolo Koba for several years now and have always had to borrow a 4x4 with driver to do it which has made it expensive for everyone, us included. It's a long hot journey and needs a good, strong, reliable car, so we decided if we were going to do it more regularly and also explore other areas, that we should do what we have avoided for about 15 years, buy a car here...
So we invested (gulp!) in a 7-seater Toyota Land Cruiser. It's the most comfortable car we have ever owned. There are friends and family who would say that is not a good indicator I know... but it really is comfy! A strong work horse that can get us in and out of anywhere, yet a very smart one. If you think you would like to include such a trip, allow at least 4 days. We can accommodate 4 people per trip. If you let me know you'd like more information I will send you an idea of costs for 2022-2023.
KORA MAKING
We have decide to move most of our kora making to Kafountine, partly because of Brexit but also because it is now where we spend most of our time, and to that end have been building a workshop in our garden. In between putting the roof on, Adam has been working on the kora bodies that we need to complete our considerable back order list! Once again we are grateful to customers who have been so patient.
Here you can see some of the stages of making a kora. These are destined for customers as far apart as Hawaii, The Netherlands and Poland. Hassan is keen to watch, help and learn as koras are now such a large part of his life.
Once the workshop is finished next week, Adam will be able to start work on the necks, particularly the keno that has been waiting patiently to be transformed. By the time we return in November it will be much easier to make our koras here and ultimately will be able to offer kora-making workshops.
The Budget koras - soon to be renamed Student Koras, are now being made in partnership with Dembo Jobarteh in The Gambia and we are delighted that the first few are coming to Kafountine next week. Not in time for this newsletter but it might well warrant a small one of its own - we have big plans for these small but great quality koras!
Skype/Zoom lessons
Whilst there are plenty of workshop opportunities this year not everyone can spare the cash or the time to travel. So whilst Adam has several online students in the UK we have students in Australia, Canada, China, Portugal, Spain, the US and beyond. The first lesson is always free, so it's certainly worth giving it a go. Contact Kath for details.
TUTORIALS with a Newsletter Discount again(!)
Plus of course there are also the excellent high quality, step-by-step Video Tutorials if you need the ultimate flexibility in how often you learn. Some people use them in conjunction with the Zoom lessons, they are not mutually exclusive. 10% DISCOUNT on any tutorial purchase with discount code NEWS2022 - valid until the end of this year.
WHAT IS THE KORA TRUST?
It is a group of guests and friends who on the whole have been to Kafountine and want to directly support local initiatives. The UK charity number is 1181515 and we are a CIO.
If you would like to offer financial support, whether small or large, regular or one-off please contact us on koratrust@gmail.com We accept GBP, Euros and USD, you can pay by PayPal and you can even choose us a charity on Amazon Smile. Find us on Facebook here and click that Like button!
Kalagan asked us for help to keep his little pre-school going many years ago. He sadly died a few years later but the school is going from strength to strength and proudly bears his name.
This video was created by the lovely Rosie a recent guest, and badly edited by Kath in a rush to get this newsletter finally sent :-) Only 40 seconds long but you get the gist!
The little pre-school is one project that The Kora Trust has an long standing commitment to and pays the wages of two teachers and an assistant. In addition thanks to a generous bequest, we are now building the much needed second classroom. Although we don't have enough funds to complete the building, we have taken a very West African approach and 'gone for it', knowing that if we waited until we had all the money it would probably never happen. So yes, you guessed it we now would appreciate any donations large or small (even teeny ones will make us happy) Thank you to all who have already donated!
Official bit of news!
We have taken the Kafountine holidays part of The Kora Workshop Ltd and made it as a separate holiday business in Senegal. It makes life a lot simpler for our UK accountant and there is little change from our customers' viewpoint, other than receiving invoices with a different look. It's still just us, the same people doing the same thing in the same place :-)
It is still fine to make payments through The Kora Workshop Ltd for holidays as usual and Kafountine is still on our website. Just add the additional email kafountine.holidays@gmail.com to your address book so if we email you from that address in the future it doesn't disappear down a spam black hole.
WHAT'S ON?
Now that the festivals are back on there will be plenty of kora to see with Jaly Fily Cissokho at Elementary Festival, at WOMAD who are celebrating their 40th anniversary with Sona Jobarteh plus Jali Bakary Konteh. Sona is all over Europe and Bakary is heading to the USA for a long-awaited tour with Pa Bobo Jobarteh
Seckou Keita is as busy as ever, performing with Catrin Finch all over the UK this year, playing as part of the Aka Trio, as well as popping over to Sète in France for a gig with Omar Sosa.
Suntou Suso is appearing lots this year, from Cornwall to Sheffield.
Ballake Sissoko has a couple of gigs in France and then at the Barbican in November.
We are always happy to help promote any players and their gigs. More of the jalis and other kora musicians have their own websites, are on Twitter and Facebook. You can find links to many of them on our Musicians Directory. Send me more musicians' websites if you come across them; ours is just a growing list, so please do help create the network. The Facebook groups Learning Kora - UK and Learning Kora - Worldwide among others are useful sources of information. If you hear of a gig, locally to you or far away, let me and others know, it all helps!
That's all for now...
I hope you've enjoyed this newsletter. As always, if you have any queries, questions, need help with your kora, or are just curious about any aspect of what we do then get in touch by email or WhatsApp.
You can also find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Subscribe to us on Youtube for more kora music and information.
Best wishes,
Kath and Adam
www.thekoraworkshop.co.uk
UK Mobile: (+44) 07758 616 773 (WhatsApp or text best)
UK landline: (+44) 01600 750600 (answerphone only - we can call you back)
French Mobile: (+33) 06 52 38 53 56 (mid July-end October)
Senegalese Mobile: (+221) 774895368 (until mid July)
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