MTPA – Glass Beads, Leather, Painting and Silkscreen

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Crafting Careers at the Border
A creative skills training programme hosted near Kruger National Park, equipping young people with techniques in beadwork, leathercraft, painting, and silkscreen for the tourism market.
Youth living near heritage and tourism-rich areas often don’t benefit from the creative economy surrounding them. With limited access to skills training or markets, local talent remains untapped and underdeveloped.
A pair of handmade earrings with rectangular tan leather pieces, each featuring a red square accent with a gold stud. Three dangling strands of round and textured gold beads hang from each earring. Gold hooks are attached at the top. The background is black.
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Disciplines taught across multiple workshops
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Youth trained
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Products sold at park gateways and nearby lodges
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Toolkit created to replicate model in other regions
ART AID partnered with the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency to run workshops focused on practical creative skills. From bead weaving to fabric printing, participants were trained to develop handmade products aligned with tourist demand and local culture.
Youth artisans gained skills across multiple disciplines, created culturally rooted products for the tourism market, and launched micro-enterprises that offered locally made alternatives to imported souvenirs.
A black silhouette of a person in profile view wearing a baseball cap, facing right, is shown against a solid yellow rectangular background on a white surface. The image has a bold, graphic style.
A person wearing glasses and a patterned headscarf shapes glass using a blowtorch, creating an orange flame. Glass pieces, tools, and coloured glass rods are scattered on the table. Another person works in the background. Sunlight filters through curtains behind them.
A group of people stand and sit under a large thatched-roof hut with open sides. The hut is surrounded by dry grass, and a tree with sparse green leaves stretches overhead. Luggage and rucksacks are scattered near the edge of the hut.
A person’s hand draws geometric and floral patterns with a black marker on a white sheet. The design features repeated hexagons and petal shapes. Another hand rests nearby on the paper, and the background is out of focus.
Several metal rods with colourful, hand-shaped glass beads are arranged on a bright blue textured towel. The beads are various shapes and colours, including green, orange, yellow, blue, and beige, some with dots and layered designs.
A black and white fabric print features an oval frame with a dotted border. Inside the oval, there is a stylised, abstract flower with bold, dark brushstrokes on a light background. The outer edges are shaded in grey, giving a textured appearance.
A necklace with chunky, irregular glass beads—some clear, others with red or mint green accents—interspersed with round wooden beads of different sizes, all strung on a tan cord against a black background.
A fabric with a geometric pattern of dark grey and magenta squares, some overlapping. Each square features simple white botanical silhouettes: a leaf, a flower, and two twig-like branches with berries, set against a white background.
Four handmade necklaces with black, yellow, and pink cords, each featuring a unique polished stone or glass pendant and wooden bead accents, are arranged on a black surface. The pendants vary in colour, including brown, clear, and amber tones.
A stylised, block-print illustration of a pink elephant with an upraised trunk is centred on a bright pink background, framed by a turquoise and white patterned border. The image has a playful, childlike, and abstract feel.
A rectangular abstract design features bold, jagged black and white lines over a red background, forming geometric shapes resembling diamonds and chevrons. The artwork has a rough, textured appearance and rests on a muted blue surface.
A person’s hands trace a green cartoon crocodile onto a clear screen for printmaking. The drawing is framed by a wooden screen and features a blue background with a colourful, striped border. The person uses a green pencil, with fabric visible underneath the frame.
A handmade earring with a rectangular, tan textured base, a small red square and brass stud in the centre, featuring three strands of round, textured golden beads hanging below. The earring has a hook for wearing. The background is black.
A hand draws a plant with charcoal on white paper. The plant has a thick stem with several leaves on both sides. Each leaf is outlined and contains bold, curved lines representing veins. The top of the image shows the person’s hand holding the charcoal.
A square pendant necklace with a circular centrepiece and central metal bead, adorned with hanging metal beads in various shapes, is displayed on a deep red textured background. The necklace’s cord features small, round metallic beads.
A close-up of a traditional saddle covered with animal hide featuring bold black-and-tan zebra-like stripes, draping over the saddle. The saddle has metal parts and brown-and-white fur accents, and is set against a solid black background.
A wooden screen-printing frame with a transparent sheet showing a leaf pattern design lies on a beige surface. Part of a tan T-shirt with a visible size label is in the foreground, and a person's hand appears at the top left corner.
A black silhouette of a woman with an afro and a heart shape on her cheek is centred over a red square background on a cream-coloured fabric. The woman is shown in profile, facing left, with elegant facial features.
A pair of handmade earrings with rectangular tan leather pieces, each featuring a red square accent with a gold stud. Three dangling strands of round and textured gold beads hang from each earring. Gold hooks are attached at the top. The background is black.
A hand holding a black marker traces over a detailed floral line drawing on white paper, illuminated by a beam of sunlight. Other similar sketches and part of a plant with long, curved leaves are visible nearby in the shadow.
A vibrant abstract pattern features bold, swirling flower shapes in red, yellow, black, and white. The central large flower has concentric layers with radiating lines, surrounded by intricate textures and smaller repeating floral motifs.
Close-up of two hands carefully tying red feathers to a small object with white string. The background is out of focus, showing brown and tan tones, possibly a wooden surface, and part of a knee in blue jeans. The hands appear skilful and focused.
A close-up of colourful beaded necklaces featuring round wooden, metallic, and glass beads, including clear glass beads with red and yellow patterns, green and red beads, and some with heart and capsule shapes, all arranged in a tangled pile.
A rectangular brown and beige fur clutch bag with a pointed flap, gold stitching, two gold press studs, and red leather fringe hanging from under the flap. The bag is resting on a dark surface.
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