About us

Shamaan.nl and Drumcirkels.nl:

Everything for healing, growth and development on your path with Drum.

On the idyllic Dutch island of Goeree-Overflakkee, just a half-hour drive from the Antwerp Ring Road, Joost, Singing Drum, and Myrte Kuijpers live with their daughters. The couple not only have a beautiful, green garden that houses a yurt, but also run two businesses that are closely intertwined with shamanism.

Joost and Myrte have dedicated their lives to the healing power of the Drum, a shamanic instrument that plays a central role in their work and outlook on life.

The Spirit of Drum

Joost, known by his spiritual name “Singing Drum,” is a shamanic healer who has been immersed in shamanism for over twenty-five years. During a trance journey many years ago, he was called by the Spirit of Drum. It was a moment that changed his life forever. Since then, Joost has been giving birth to medicine drums, also called shamanic healing trance drums, which
he considers spiritual tools. His passion for the drum led to the establishment of Drumcircles.com in 2021.

The acquisition of Shaman.com

Two years ago Joost received a special phone call from the former owner of Sjamaan.nl, Peter de Haan of dePoldersjamaan.nl, Peter had guided Joost on the shamanic path in his early years and now asked if Joost would like to take over the webshop so that he could retire in peace. For Joost, this offer felt like a confirmation of the path he was on. ‘When things like this happen, come your way, you know and feel that you are carried, that you are not alone and that you can trust,’ he tells himself. Myrte, who was in education for more than 20 years, suffered a hernia last year. For her, a clear signal to turn her life around. Together with Joost, she now continues Sjamaan.nl. She runs the daily operations of the webshop and sells materials for making shaman drums.

The webshop and visitors’ area

After Sjamaan.nl took over, an internal move in their home followed, freeing up a space where visitors could choose materials to craft their own drum at their leisure and by feel.

Materials

Joost and Myrte sell only items that they themselves feel good about. There is a wide range of hides, bare or hairy, and frames in different diameters, thicknesses and types of wood. ‘The animals that made their skin available did not die for their skin and do not come from bio-industry. We think that’s very important,” Myrte says. The wood used to make the frames is also sustainably sourced. Many types of wood are responsibly harvested locally from suppliers and processed into frames. Only Ash and Maple wood is shipped from Canada but also responsibly harvested.

When the skins come in for the drums, they undergo a cleansing ritual with sage and florida water. Joost and Myrte thank the Spirit, the trees and the animals. They are also asked to lend a hand to the one who will be herding the Drum. This strengthens the power of the Drum and brings the worlds together.

Literally everything in the webshop is carefully selected. They have good contact with their suppliers and work dedicatedly with the carefully built business relationships from the years of experience of Peter, the Poldershaman. Service is what they are known for and the personal approach is very important to the couple.