The Masons of Djenne: by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C.

Watch “The Masons of Djenne,” a 5-minute mini-documentary directed by Dr. Trevor Marchand, co-produced with Dr. Mary Jo Arnoldi, and edited by Pete Durgerian for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The film captures a unique and very old building technique using handmade masonry, perfected through multiple generations in Djenne, a small town in the West African country of Mali. While relatively simple in execution, this approach to building has brought the masons of Djenne layer upon layer of spirituality, honor, skill, tradition, and beauty over time. We are grateful to the Smithsonian and Dr. Marchand for permitting us to share this short film with our audience.

Dr. Marchand is the author of “The Pursuit of Pleasurable Work: Craftwork in Twenty-First Century England,” (Berghahn Books, 2021), which inspired a series of conversations with him about craftsmanship and mastery. To hear more, please join us for our new audio series, "The Secrets of Mastery," available only on Substack: https://craftsmanship.substack.com/po...