Benjamin has been making cooshikas for a living for about 10 years, but he has been involved with cooshikas for as long as he can remember. He learned about the craft from his grandfather when he was a small boy. Benjamin is from a small village in the Eastern Region of Ghana. There the cooshika is known as "The Welcome Instrument" because it is one of the earliest instruments in Ghana.

We asked Benjamin to share a little bit about his craft with us, and our meeting turned into an entire afternoon spent wandering in the bush looking for exactly the right type of seed (called "cat's eyes") that makes the best percussion noise, and learning how to pick a good cooshika shell from a bad one. Sitting under the shade of a tree, watching Benjamin assemble these addictive little percussion instruments, we came again to admire the pride and skill Benjamin, like so many other artisans we work with, pours into his work.

Not only is Benjamin a skilled artisan, but he is also a great cooshika musician. His playing is an art form in itself, as he nimbly twirls these small balls around his hands and between his fingers creating complex and beautiful rhythms. When asked about his dreams for the future, Benjamin said that he hoped he would be able to make a living doing what he loved best - making, and playing, cooshikas.