HOKEMA has stood for high-quality musical instruments since 1985. The firm, based in the small town of Walsrode in Lower Saxony, develops and produces unique sound wonders: Kalimbas. The warm, soft and gently relaxing sounds are harmonious in themselves as well as when played with other instruments. Anyone can immediately begin to play the handy Kalimbas: due to the pre-tuned scales, wonderful enchanting melodies are created. Peter Hokema, the founder and owner of the firm, experimented passionately with various instruments during his study of music and it was this that led him to discover these traditional African plucked instruments.
The breakthrough came in 2001 when Peter invented the Sansula: an oval wooden frame covered with drumskin which resonates to the tones of the Kalimba mounted in the centre. The sounds were immediately greeted with great enthusiasm and the instrument was duly patented.
Today the family firm, in its second generation and with 9 employees, is one of the leading producers worldwide of various models of attractive and easily-playable Kalimbas. They are made of high quality materials such as cherrywood exclusively in Germany and in cooperation with German suppliers. The energy required is generated by the company’s own ecologically-friendly photovoltaic module on the roof of the production facility in Walsrode.
Kalimbas are not mass demand product and every instrument is hand made, is unique in details and can differ from shown on photos. During professional using kalimba requires basic care and moderately gentle handling, including tuning, especially after mailing. This can be done without any efforts or special knowledge - just remember that every acoustic musical instrument needs some respect.