At Hands on Harps…we care. We care about the environment
about children
and about pandas
OK, so some of this might not be relevant to what we do, but in all seriousness, we are a business that has real ethics. Our stated aim is to make learning the harp affordable and accessible, but we are proud to make sure that we do that in a way that doesn’t compromise our (Creag and Morwenna’s) values.
- We source our wood only from FSC certificated suppliers. FSC® is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.
- We will always pay our employees a living wage. Right now we don’t have any, but when we grow and do we will never pay the minimum wage. At the moment we host Workawayers, a worldwide scheme for travelers to come and volunteer with us. Read more about our Workawayers here
- We endeavor to make learning the harp affordable. Our aim is not to make gilded, overly ornate lever harps that cost the same as a family car. We want people to be able to afford to get their hands on a harp and have fun with it.
- We believe that harps shouldn’t be seen as fragile items that people are afraid to touch. Danish oiled wood is quite well protected, and it’s also quite easy to repair if a harp comes back with a few scratches on it. Don’t be afraid to share your music around a campfire!
- We believe that anyone can learn the harp, and that it should be fun. There is a place for classical training, but it’s not for us-we prefer the folk tradition of training people to be intuitive musicians with a connection to their instrument, rather than automatons who can churn out a piece of sheet music if it’s put in front of them.