Warasa Garifuna Drum School is the dream of its founder and master drummer and teacher, Ronald Raymond McDonald. 

Ronald (or Ray as many know him) is a self-taught drummer who has been performing since age 5 with his family group. He is also a former drummer, dancer and singer for the Belize National Dance Company. He has performed all over Belize and much of Central America, including Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. He is one of the few Garifuna musicians capable of playing all the different instruments, singing, dancing, and even drum-making. 

Ray is passionate about his culture, and for many years his dream was to start a Garifuna Drum School so that he can teach others about his culture.  With the help of his wife Ruth, Warasa (which means "our culture"), was begun in 2010, and has slowly grown from borrowing Ray's dad's two drums and operating out of a small, cluttered bedroom in a rented house, to making more than 10 of our own drums and moving to our beautiful new location in the Garifuna reserve.

In 2012 Warasa became the recipient of a Small Business Matching Grant from Belize Tourism Board's Sustainable Tourism Grant, which enabled us to erect a custom-build traditional thatch and improve and expand the experience that we offer our guests, as well as offering a range of souvenirs (available from our online store or Facebook page).