My name is Saikou Saho and I come from the Gambia, West Africa. Gambia is a small country but is rich culturally in terms of music and arts with friendly people. Growing up in that kind of environment allows me to appreciate the African arts and culture. I always was interested in music and musical instruments. When I was a young boy I remember we used to make drums out of a tin can, cover the top of the tin can with clear plastic and we would tie a rubber band around the can to hold the plastic. We used to play drums for cultural dancing caleed 'kankuran' and for wrestling. To make a 'kankuran' costume we used to go peel a red bark from a tree and put leaves around the waist of the dancer.
I came to Canada in 1986 and was surprised to see the cultural mosiac of Toronto. I always thought something was missing in the way the authentic African art was presented. For example when I went to the music stores, most of the drums were stashed away in the corner. Often the store attendants don't know much about the drums and to me drums are very important in African culture. I believe this because every community have their own drums, that they play for different events whether sending a message, funeral, weddings, baby naming or for spiritual reasons. The sound of the drum that was described as the heartbeat of God.

In 1998, I decided to open an African drums and art crafts store, in the heart of Kensington Market, to present authentic African arts and crafts. In the store, we carry very interested pieces from all over Africa. For example, we have mud cloths from Mali, masks from Ivory Coast, a Senifo bed, Ashanti tools from Ghana, Djembe drums from Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Ivory Coast. We have arts, musical instruments, clothing, drum repair and service, African music, videos and cassettes.
Recently we moved to a larger store location on 618 Dundas St. West. The telephone number is (416) 597-0175, fax is (416) 597-1664. If you need or want anything from Africa don't hesitate to call.