Bottles are also repurposed and used to build wall structures and mosaic tiles for artistic flooring.
As this project grows, the community members working here grow and become more skilled and confident.
Alan Muteka heads up the Glass Recycling Workshop. When he started, he was a shy young man – unable to speak English well.
Today, he stands tall in front of guests and takes them through the glass recycling process with pride.
We brought in an expert in glass recycling and bead making, to build the glass-melting oven and train a new team from the community.
Within three days, the energy at The Sijwa Project was electrifying. Everyone stood amazed as the most beautiful turquoise glass beads emerged from the flames.
The newly appointed glass recycling artisans enthused that it felt not like they were being taught a skill, but that they were being taught to perform magic!
“I've never thought of myself as artistic but creating a piece of jewellery with recycled glass beads that included my personal intention hidden inside, inspired me. I loved the experience – the variety of recycled supplies and being surrounded by African nature sharpened my creative abilities. Unwinding while focusing on the unique object and being creative at my own pace, made me think and reflect in a meditative state of mind.
I created two keyrings. I called the first piece ‘Endless’ which adds a sentimental touch and stands for the feeling I experienced while creating, which I wanted to continue in an endless way…
The keyring ‘Strong’ was my second piece where I just followed my heart and different energies. It stands for skill improvement, inspiration, self esteem, a fresh perspective and intuition.”
Muriel Sadek
Bottles that normally end up in rubbish pits or find their way littering the escarpments are now being turned into beautiful jewellery pieces.
Brona Kanzeka is our head jewellery designer and smiles proudly as she and Olga Blom, manager of The Sijwa Project, create masterpiece after masterpiece – continuously experimenting with new designs.
Each item is crafted as a once-off piece, unique and made with genuine love for their work, from the glass beads Alan and his team produced from the recycled bottles.
Our big dream is to one day blow our own glassware to grace the tables of our lodges.
Our vision is to recycle all plastic bottles collected from our lodges and the villages in our area. We will build as many structures as possible using plastic bottles.
Community members are employed to fill the plastic bottles with sand and other non-organic waste in preparation of the ‘building site’. They also help build the structures using the filled plastic bottles and cement. These skills are taught and transferred into the surrounding areas, which will hopefully reduce the chopping down of trees to build local houses.
Discarded tin cans and scrap metal lie scattered across the escarpment of the Mayuni and Mashi conservancies – waste items, which we now collect and repurpose into beautiful treasures.
The establishment of our aluminium foundry resulted in the employment of a further four members of the community, who now possess the recycling and creative skills to generate an income for their families.
68 tin cans are melted, moulded and polished to create one of our most popular items – a unique aluminium butter pot, which graces the tables of our lodges and also the homes of guests far and wide.
We would appreciate any form of support.
Simply booking a stay at African Monarch Lodges, visiting The Sijwa Project, or buying any of the products produced makes an enormous difference.
Should you have space in your luggage when travelling to us, may we ask that you consider packing sewing items (like needles, threads and scissors) for our sewing team, or school stationery and books for the vocational residency and residency library.
The escarpment of the community land bordering the Bwabwata National Park lays littered with paper, plastic, glass bottles, and tin cans.
This rural area still has no running water, no electricity, no flushing ablutions, and no formal waste management services.
African Monarch Lodges created The Sijwa Project for exactly this reason – to protect our immediate environment by not adding its own generated waste to non-existent landfills.
It is our dream to embark on a bold project which hopes to see the end of waste lying scattered across this precious land. Join our hands as we embark on what could be one of the greatest success stories for this region.
