registered charity number 1057668

The term "One Heart" was coined by the Baka women themselves. They wanted proceeds from recordings made to be used for projects that all agreed to and done with good motivation with one heart.

ONE HEART aims to:

• Record endangered music and bring royalties from sales back to the musicians' community.
• Use funds collected to carry out projects agreed by and of benefit to the community.
• Encourage self-worth and respect for their culture by showing that it is appreciated in the wider world.
• Relieve poverty in communities which have provided music for recordings.
• Educate people in Britain about foreign cultures by running workshops in schools and community centres.

PROJECTS

Building Music House with the Baka Pygmies in Cameroon
Watch video - part 1 - part 2

Thousand Stars Festival, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
Watch video

BACKGROUND

Martin Cradick and Su Hart spent the winters of 1992 and 1994 with the Baka forest people, relying on their skills of hunting and gathering for survival. After the first trip they produced two albums :

• Heart of the Forest: field recordings of the Baka's traditional music
• Spirit of the forest: music inspired by the Baka and music written with them during the long jam sessions in the forest. All the royalties due to the Baka for both their performances and their songs have been collected for them and in September 1996 we at last gained charitable status for this money which will be used to help the Baka maintain their forest and their lifestyle in a rapidly changing world.

Martin and Su returned to stay with the Baka in January 1998 to further discuss with them what projects can be undertaken with money so far raised. Martin returned in November, 2000 with anthropologist, Jerome Lewis to deliver vital supplies and to further discuss with the Baka developement projects and again in November, 2002.

In February 2003 Global Music Exchange took Andi Main, a skilled timber-frame builder, to the Baka' s village to help them build their music house. The main structure is now completed, although there is still plenty to do and we will be returning again at the end of the year.

Jerome Lewis also returned and helped the Baka to realise their dream of creating their own association that gives them real legal status in Cameroon. His wife Ingrid, an expert in tropical medicine, also came and started preliminary work in setting up a suitable healthcare system that will eventually be self-funding. We are currently raising the money to fund these projects. If you would like to help click here.

Martin and Andi returned in 2004 to complete the music house and to start recording the Baka's music on a mobile multitrack studio. You can watch one of the recording sessions HERE.
You can see the building of the music house HERE

• Read report of the 1998 trip
• Read report of the 2000 trip
• Latest AGM minutes 2003
• Read account of the first music house (with photos)
• Read account of building music house (with photos)

In future we hope to extend the charity to make recordings of other traditional music and to channel any proceeds back to development projects in the musicians' communities.

We are presently funding trips to deliver urgent tools and supplies to the Baka, to complete the construction of their music house, to build a medical centre and to further discuss with them future development projects.

Back to the top