About Sare Bidji
The community of Sare Bidji is defined by its surroundings: several villages established on the fertile flood valley of a river, dependent upon the richness of the ground to grow the rice that is the basis of their economy. Approximately 8,000 Pulaar people live in these villages, sharing a common history and culture. The musicians from six villages want to create a program for local young people to learn traditional music. The musicians fear that without this type of teaching, the community's music and culture may die. The community hopes to utilize any funds generated from the sale of their recordings to build traditional instruments and to implement the program. The local pride and excitement about participating in Community Voice International's project has already increased interest in traditional music among the young people.

About Community Voice International and the Pilot Project
Community Voice International is a nonprofit organization that facilitates cultural understanding and supports international development by improving communities' capacity to share cultural resources. Community Voice International works with communities to record local music, distribute the recordings online to engage a global audience, and return 100% of the proceeds to the communities to fund local development efforts chosen by the communities themselves.

In June 2013, Community Voice traveled to Senegal to pilot its music project in collaboration with Peace Corp Volunteers and Tostan, a non-government organization specializing in holistic, non-formal education. The team partnered with eight communities across Senegal, recording performances of local music in each of these communities. These communities come from five of Senegal's major ethnic groups—Bambara, Mandinka, Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof—and each performs a unique style of music. Musicians played stringed instruments (kora, hoddu, and ñaañeru), drums, and other percussion instruments including various uses of calabashes, gourds, and bowls. Solo singers and call and response ensembles sang lyrics ranging from traditional griot stories to Muslim chants to new compositions celebrating the growing importance of women's rights in Senegal. The members of our partner communities are excited to present their music and are proud to share this part of their culture with a global audience.

These songs were recorded in the local context—often outside under the shade of a tree. In addition to the voices and instruments of the community, each recording is rich with the sounds of daily life: babies crying, birds chirping, and the murmur of conversations. We believe these sounds add to the recordings, rather than detracting from them. Each community holds the copyright to its own recordings and has named Community Voice International to act as agent on their behalf.

For more information on Community Voice International, Peace Corps Senegal, and Tostan, please visit our websites:
www.communityvoiceinternational.org
www.pcsenegal.org
www.tostan.org