"Our greatest display of preservation is seen and felt through drum and dance."
LEAF INTERNATIONAL IVORY COAST
Abidjan | Founded 2017 | 100+ Youth Served
Why Ivory Coast?
Adama Dembele is a 33rd generation musician from Ivory Coast, West Africa. He has been a culture keeper with LEAF for more than 12 years. In January 2015, the Ivory Coast government demolished their family home and many others in Abobo (a city of 1.5 million people), citing erosion and unsafe conditions, a fact that is common in this part of the country where very little infrastructure exists. Thousands of people were pushed out of their homes with one week’s notice–some forced at gunpoint–and were given no temporary housing or compensation. Many families and children are now homeless with little expectation that the Ivory Coast government will provide housing or reimbursement for those impacted. To support the continuation of the inspirational work of the Dembele family, LEAF partners with Adama Dembele and Krimbo Delagrange to provide West African Drum & Dance traditions to the community.
Program Overview
Demolished in 2015 by the government, the Djembeso Drum & Dance Education Center was a place for people of all ages to study drumming, dance, and learn about West African culture. Local Asheville musicians have traveled to study there, including members of Zansa and Toubab Krewe, as well as countless others from around the world. The Dembele household, known as Djembeso, or House of Djembe, has been a link between Asheville and West Africa for over a decade, though the family has been sharing their music for centuries. The Dembele family has been passing on their musical heritage and culture for nearly 700 years. Because of the great amount of respect LEAF has for African traditions and its culture keepers, LEAF partners with Krimbo Delagrange and the Dembele family to support the continuation of West African Drum and Dance classes in the Ivory Coast.
This LEAF International program includes:
Twice-daily rehearsals focusing on traditional West African dance & drumming
Monthly Community Performances
Meals for youth between rehearsals
Rehearsals in Ivory Coast and Mali
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Program Highlights
- Erinn H, co-director traveled to Ivory Coast to support the LI program
- Global engagement director and Cultural Ambassador Adama Dembele interviewed for the Thinking of Travel Podcast bit.ly/SOTleaf2
- Youth perform at 5 community performances from Jan – April
- Program Documentary released
- The program transforms with the leadership of culture keeper Krimbo.
Resiliency – Even without a standing culture center, Culture Keeper Dramane Dembele creates a partnership with the SOS d’Abobo Orphanage to teach classes 3 times per week. His classes quickly reached full capacity in a matter of days.
Official LEAF International Ivory Coast program created.
4th Annual Soumu Event – A fundraiser and celebration of African Music, Dance, Food, & Art on Sept 16. Funds were raised through the Soumu Event for the purchase of land in Bomako, Mali. Mali was chosen as the new location over Ivory Coast for reasons such as safety and the Malian government’s history of supporting music and preserving culture.