From the 25 to the 29 of July African Activities were lucky to be invited to be a part of the Camp Bestival Family.

We set up in the new ‘Wild Tribe’ area a deliberate move away from screens and over stimulation back to activities that reconnect children and their families with the earth. It was inspirational to be working alongside Greenpeace and delicious to be fed by the amazing Feed the Soul. They turned food into a work of art born of fire and knifes.

Spinney Hollow is literally just up the road from us and we have been meaning to visit for years! Instead we ended up sharing a field together and were delighted to drum in the dragon and drum up the fire for the closing ceremony.

We had an exchange of gifts, ideas and bushcraft with Dustin James and drummed as the amazing structure built by Camp Bestivals children and woodland tribe burned during the closing ceremony.

We were delighted to have Pape join Kwame and Kwajo for the opening ceremony with drumming circles and some dancing – the only concern we had was getting people to stop drumming!

We also carried out Adinkra workshops all weekend – reminded again of their power not only as accessible art for children of all ages and abilities but also as a tool to reconnect adults with their creativity. So many of us are told as children that we lack aptitude in the arts – so many of us were lied to and even if we are totally rubbish we need to remember that creating is a balm for the soul. Its about the process even more than it is about the product.