Hand Made African Glass Beads and Jewellery

The African AMASO Bead Project - Combining Unique Bead Making and Jewellery Design Skills with South African Community Upliftment

Historically, ancient African beadwork was done with precious metals such as copper and gold and with natural materials such as wood and ostrich shells. In more recent times, however, an abundance of glass and plastic beads have entered the continent from abroad, causing those important bead making skills to be lost and for the rest of the world to forget the intrinsic charm and beauty of the originals.

To alleviate this problem, a process was developed by Mintek in South Africa where by recycled glass bottles were utilised to manufacture beads in the indigenous style. The project is called "Amaso" which is the Xhosa word for jewellery.

In essence, the process involves using recycled bottles that are crushed and ground to a powder, then mixed with a binder and a colourant. Once the beads are formed by hand, they are placed on stainless steel wires and sintered in a kiln around 800 degrees C. which produces both clear and opaque looking beads.

The projects (totally owned by the rural women) have been set up in various areas throughout South Africa to manufacture unique hand made beads and jewellery : combining style with excellant design and giving the members of these communities the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their children.