Since 1999, Djoliba has established itself as the go-to place in Toulouse for those looking for musical instruments from around the world. From North African derbouka, West African balafon, South American ocarina, to Australian didgeridoo, the store, first located on rue de l’Étoile and since 2002 at 18 bis boulevard Riquet, offers all that and many other instruments, with nearly 5,000 references in the catalog. Over the years, it has built partnerships with artisans from around the world, who have become its suppliers.
Unique in Occitanie, very rare in France
“We are the only store of this kind in Occitanie, and there are only four or five in France,” says Christophe Gallego, co-founder and manager of Djoliba.
But today, the positive vibes emanating from the store are tinged with concern. The company and its five employees are facing significant financial difficulties. Not the first in their history, but certainly the most serious, prompting its managers to launch a fundraiser on the Leetchi platform on March 23 to try to overcome this rough patch.
A multifactorial crisis
“The purpose of this fundraiser is to support us and help us get through the restructuring of Djoliba, so that by September we can work on a new model,” explains Christophe Gallego. Of the final goal of €50,000, over €8,000 had been raised by Thursday, April 9.
The current issues are due to several elements according to the co-founder. Firstly, “the market has completely changed with the internet. Some Chinese websites are causing a lot of harm, as is the case in the textile industry,” he says.
Culture in distress
But another reason is purely French:
“The state is no longer playing its role in culture, which is a pillar of society along with education. Many projects have fallen through because an association did not receive state aid or grants,” says Christophe Gallego, Co-founder and manager of Djoliba.
Finally, “the purchasing power has decreased for a large part of the clientele, especially in the last two years,” observes Christophe Gallego.
The last two factors are interconnected: among the store’s customers, there are institutional clients (communities of communes, universities, museums) as well as individuals, including professional and amateur artists. However, the cuts in cultural budgets affect an entire ecosystem, forcing stakeholders to make trade-offs in their consumption, especially at a time when fuel prices are soaring. The butterfly effect, in short…
A company with a “horizontal” operation
Djoliba also offers, once a month, instrument discovery workshops from around the world, as part of the Music Lab. Among the upcoming events, a shamanic drum workshop on April 29, whose facilitator will come for free.
Soon a “solidarity concert”?
A number of supporters are urging Djoliba to offer a “solidarity concert” to raise funds to save this Toulouse cultural institution. “We have received messages from all over France, from artists offering to play for free to help us,” says the manager. “I’m thinking about it.”
All these testimonials strengthen Christophe Gallego and his team in their fight to survive: “People know that Djoliba is a unique place that must not disappear.”
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