The Algerian making his own instruments
This former cabinet maker now handcrafts instruments
Location: Ighil Bouammas, Algeria
Yahia Challai took up the profession after he broke his beloved banjo
(SOUNDBITE) (French) CRAFTSMAN, YAHIA CHALLALI, SAYING:
"It's a profession that I love. It was a challenge. I once broke my banjo and I swore to myself not to play music anymore, not to touch a guitar or a banjo or any other musical instrument until the day I fix my banjo myself, and this is what happened. It was a challenge."
Challai started playing the banjo as a form of physiotherapy
after losing his fingers in a workshop accident
He now makes bespoke, hybrid string instruments for international clients
It takes him one month to build an instrument
(SOUNDBITE) (French) CRAFTSMAN, YAHIA CHALLALI, SAYING:
"New ideas, new instruments, mixed instruments, hybrid (instruments) with an Italian piece, a Jewish piece, a French piece, a Kabyle piece, an Algerian piece and an oriental (piece) - putting all these in one single instrument is a dream, it is a project that I have been cherishing for a long time. I might one day manage to do it, if my life is long. I hope so. Projects like this are close to my heart, ideas that are out of the ordinary."
