Build Your Own Alfaia – Maracatu Drum-Making Weekend
When: Saturday & Sunday, 31st of May & 1st of of June
Time: 9am – 2pm
Where: Redfern, Sydney
Join us for a special hands-on weekend where we gather to build Alfaias – the traditional Brazilian drums used in Maracatu, an Afro-Brazilian rhythm and cultural expression from the northeast of Brazil.
Over two days, we’ll guide you through the full process of drum-making:
- Preparing the wood
- Building the rings and shell
- Tying the strings
- Stretching and tuning the skins
You can come and join the collective effort, helping to build drums for the group – so next time you come to play, you’ll be connected to the very instrument you helped create.
Or, you can choose to build your own Alfaia to take home – to become your personal drum, full of your own energy and story.
(Limited spots available for personal drum builders – message us to reserve yours!)
This is more than a workshop – it’s a cultural experience, a movement, and a community.
We are Maracatu Ubuntu – and we’ve been gathering in Redfern for over 7 years to study and represent these vibrant traditions from Brazil.
Whether you’re new to Maracatu or a long-time friend, we’d love to have you with us. Come build, learn, and drum with us.
We are Maracatu.
We are Ubuntu.
How to Join
To secure your spot, we ask for a $100 deposit to be transferred to the following account:
BSB: 062692
Account number: 42507834
Account Number: Luis Fernando Piazzetta David
Please include your name in the reference.
The remaining balance must be paid before the day of the event.
You have two options:
- $500 – Build your own Alfaia and take it home with you.
- $250 – Contribute your hands and heart to help us build drums for the community.
This is more than a workshop. When you support this project, you’re not just learning how to build a drum – you’re giving birth to an instrument that will carry rhythm, healing, and tradition into our future gatherings.
You’re supporting a space where people can release emotional blockages, shift stagnant energy, and come back into alignment through the pulse of community and culture.
These drums will become the voice of the collective – holding songs, stories, and ancestral wisdom. To support this project is to plant seeds in fertile soil, right here in the heart of Redfern.
If your heart is called to it – we welcome you. Come build with us.
Also check out other Workshops in Redfern.
