Fair Trade Djembe dealers

[IB1Dance]

HI,

Does anyone know/trust a company that is truly selling Fair trade Djembe's.

For example a company that clearly states in black & white ( as well as all the usual hype )

All the processes involved and the profit share taken by all the people needed, in order to get the drum from ,for example Africa, delivered nicely packaged to your door?.

Transparency in all business / political dealings is the only way to defeat corruption once and for all .

[IB1Dance]

http://www.goldcoastdrums.com/index.php

helpful & very informative website that gives clear information how they obtain their drums.

[Amusaf]

Unfortunately, I believe that 100% fair trade doesn't exist at all. But even though the West will always get the bigger piece of the pie, there are companies that at least try to make trade as fair as possible.

As for Gold Coast Drums that you mentioned, I can really recommend them because I know one of their suppliers very well.

It's the Western importers responsibility to make a fair deal instead of a good deal. Many shamelessly take advantage of the drum builders desparate situation. It's shocking to see. Gold Coast Drums is certainly NOT one of them. They pay decent prices.

[michi]

Check out Jeremy's page about the Jina djembes. The section before the djembe listing says something about how he deals with the local craftsmen.

Cheers,

Michi.

[abbyclark12]

truly selling Fair trade Djembe's

What exactly do you mean by this???

I got my drums from an online suppliers..I have not found any such "bug" in his order processing!
http://www.x8djembe.com/djembe-sale/

When it comes to online drum purchase..buyer has to confirm:
* anti-fraudulent checks
* The Company's reputation; who is processing online payments.
* clientele positive references
* buyer better request additional "all angle" photos of drums
* seller market reputation
* website depth & all...

Transparency in all business / political dealings is the only way to defeat corruption once and for all .

Still figuring out what exactly do you mean by this statement?

[FreekAce]

he's asking about drums where the creator of it gets a fair share of the money instead of working his behind off for next to nothing pay.

have a look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade

[michi]

There is no Fairtrade certification for products that are not primary produce, so anyone can claim to be fair trade djembe dealer without having to live up to any standard whatsoever. In other words, you have nothing but the company's word for it, and different companies' ideas of what constitutes fair trade may differ considerably. Given that, your best bet is probably to talk to the owners and see what they have to say about it.

Cheers,

Michi.

[drumdesign22]

Hello djembefola! I haven't participated on this forum except for frequent readings of the articles about Music and Technical information (very helpful!), until I saw this thread. And even then, I am only posting because I feel very strongly about this subject. Not to say I wouldn't post more, but alas, I have very little time.

To abbyclark12: since you linked a .uk based site, I am taking this definition of fairtrade from the Fairtrade Foundation's Mission Statement (found at fairtrade.org.uk). It states:

"Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world"

There are many definitions, and even more organizations, which provide excellent information about this movement's history and development, so I hope this sparks some curiosity among this site's visitors to research the subject. It is absolutely pertinent, as African musical instruments are made almost entirely in the developing or third world, to our discussions here.

So, the original post, "Does anyone know/trust a company that is truly selling Fair trade Djembe's." is not referring to a transparent, trustworthy buying process from a business, but the ethics of the business itself.

Given x8's website, I assume they do very high volume sales, but since I wasn't able to find x8's mission statement, I did some research about drum suppliers in Indonesia. (This I assume is x8's main region/source of drums). I am sure the wholesale prices for Indonesian drums vary, the pricelist I was sent included a full size, “Pro African Djembe” for around $20USD each, not including shipping. Upon looking up a very similar drum on x8's site, where they are also listed as African djembes, the price is considerably more (List price: $500+ for 12"+ drum / Sale price: $300+).

I try to remain objective. The list or sale prices do not imply one way or another this company's business practices, unless you consider other information: wholesale price, the website's information about the products themselves (ie using the word "African" to describe something that is, to say the least, not African in region of origin, style, sound -- from the video clip on the site).

There is reason here to doubt that at $20 per drum, the Indonesian craftsman are receiving a fair portion for their labor; and that at $500 sale price, the proprietor's of x8 are contributing to better prices, sustainability, or fair terms for trade.

I hope that we remain a trustworthy and communicative community of artists and craftspeople, so that when misinformation is being passed on to customers, we can recognize it for what it is.

[Michel]

Let's just all start to demand from companies that they give information about
-how are wages and living conditions of the constructors of drums in Africa;
-how is their policy towards environmental questions.

You can always wait until you see a association or corporate body regulating such issue, but experience in other products learns you can't always trust them. At the end it's the customer who has the power. And that gives a huge responsibility!