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This page displays a variety of
jewelry styles from the Western Africa countries of Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso.
Mali: Multi-strand Glass Beads
and Recycled Brass Radiators
Ghana: Recycled Glass Bead Bracelets and Recycled Glass & Shell Necklaces NEW!
Burkina Faso: Recycled Plastic Bracelets
Mali: Multi-strand "White Heart" Glass Beads
(above) Blue Necklace.
(right) Bracelets.
Colors from left to right on branch: Green, Orange, Turquoise Blue; Red below.
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Just in! These multi-strand bracelets and necklaces are very popular adornments in Mali, Africa.
Strung on camel leather, the colorful glass beads with plain centers are
known as "white heart" beads. A knot and loop is provided as a clasp.
You have a choice of 4 different colors - green, orange, turquoise blue, and red. |
Multi-strand Necklace
Mali:WHRT-NK-color
About 20-23"
$36.00 |
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Multi-strand Bracelet
Mali:WHRT-BR-color
About 9 - 9.5"
$24.00 |
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Mali: Recycled Brass Radiator Jewelry
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Recycled Brass Radiator Pendant and Earrings
Made from discarded radiators, this jewelry is hand cut and then pounded into shape
in tiny workshops throughout Mali's capital city of Bamako.
Talk about reducing your carbon footprint!
The pendant itself is about 2" in diameter, with the cord being about 19" long.
The earrings hang 2" long, with the decorative metal being about 1".
Radiator Spiral Pendant
Mali:SPRL-NCK
$38.00 |
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Radiator Spiral Earrings
Mali:SPRL-EAR
$18.00
(Sorry - out of stock.) |
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Here's an African artisan
making triangular shaped pendants
(see bottom left of photo). |
Ghana: Recycled Glass Bracelets
These colorful and unique glass bead bracelets are handmade by recycling glass, such as the blue bottles seen below.
The African artisans creating these bracelets melt down used glass bottles,
and then fire the new beads in mud brick ovens. |
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Recycled Glass Bead Bracelets - Wide $8.00 each
GLASS-BR-W-1-Assort About 3" in diameter |
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Recycled Glass Bead Bracelets - Narrow $6.50 each
GLASS-BR-N-1-Assort About 3" in diameter. |
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Here's the production process for creating these glass beads:
Break old bottles into pieces Sieve the pieces and take the chips Put chips into clay molds - each mold has holes for the desired bead's shape and size Place mold in fire pit (burns with wood) - for 45 minutes While beads are hot, use metal stick to make hole and shape bead around edges Let cool for 1 hour "Wash" beads in sand and water on a flat rock Paint as desired Put beads back into molds and then back into fire for about 10 minutes to set paint |
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Each mud fire pit can hold about 50 molds (3 beads/mold) to create about 150 beads. This process enables
them to make about 21 necklaces per day.
About 40 people work at this workshop which is located about an hour outside the capital of Accra
in a very nice rural setting.
The owner and founder of the group is a woman named Florence Asare.
Although it is traditional for men to smash, fire, mold and paint the beads,
the women are in charge of creating the designs, producing the product and
handle most of the sales and marketing.
Below is a photo of the sales manager inside the workshop showroom.
Ghana: Recycled Glass & Shell Necklaces
This contemporary necklace will perfectly set off just about any blouse or sweater.
You get two strands of sea shells separated by recycled glass discs.
One strand is slightly shorter than the other, so that
the beauty is displayed without having the strands bunch up. It's about 9" in diameter and features a
fish hook clasp.
$30.00
(Sorry - out of stock.)
Burkina Faso: Recycled Plastic Bracelets
These recycled plastic bracelets are crafted in Burkina Faso from old plastic mats that are used for rugs and
prayer mats throughout Western Africa.
They are routinely discarded on the edges of villages.
A group of 4-10 women, lead by Rose Bere, collect them to make these colorful adornments.
The plastic is wrapped around a commonly found grass so the bracelets are flexible and
can be "squished" over one's hand and onto one's wrist.
The bracelets are available in two sizes, a thin 1/8" strip and a wider/thicker 1/2" band.
Each are about 3" in diameter, although some are a bit bigger.
For colors, you can choose either assorted colors (like those shown), or NEW just black and white (photo available soon).
Narrow Recycled Plastic Bracelets
About 1/8" |
$2.50
RECYCLD-BR-N |
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Wide Recycled Plastic Bracelets
About 1/2" |
$3.50
RECYCLD-BR-W |
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On the right, we see Rose sitting on a mat that will someday become part of a bracelet.
She learned to make these bracelets at the Centre de l'Education des Handicapés at the
Catholic cathedral Ouagadougou. (Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso).
After being taught by nuns for 4 years, she opened up her own shop in 1991 for several years
and worked and sold her products from there.
She opened up her stand at Village Artisanal Ouagadougou (VAO) in 2001
where she now has 4 permanent employees and 10 part-time folks that she calls in as needed.
The village is home to more than 400 artisans who work in 20-25 different trades, including
carving gourds into "bobble head" animals.
Rose is also pictured below (right) with an employee and in the background are the grounds of the
Village Artisanal Ouagadougou - it's a lovely setting for working and for shopping.
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Also recycled and from Mali:
chameleons
crafted from
recycled cans
from Mali.
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Batavia, NY 14020
Tel: 585.343.4490
Fax: 585.344.3551
E-mail: sales@oneworldprojects.com
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