Upcycled Bottle Top Earrings - Various Styles

Description

The ultimate in upcycling is hanging a recycled bottle top from your ear. Now THAT is a talking piece! What story do your earrings tell?

These earrings are ingenious creations from a waste product. The fabrics are all off cuts of local materials with African prints. Your earrings may be sporting the same fabric as a child's shirt or a woman's 'Kitenge'. 

These unique earrings are made by a remarkable and inspiring youth employment Project- Zakale Creations. 

We have these in a range of colours; every piece is unique as fabrics vary of course!

Fair trade & made in Kenya where your purchase has the power to make a real difference.

Imagine you could be wearing a pair of earrings crafted by artisans whose lives you have directly helped to transform.

Why we purchased? All the ethical credentials with style to boot.  

What we love...Funky, fun, lightweight & with a heart-warming story. 

Story

In 2001 John set up Zakale Creations located in Huruma, part of the Mathare slum in Nairobi. The slum population is approx. 8,000 with a very high unemployment rate (approx. 80%).

The people who live here have many challenges including poor housing, lack of basic facilities, including water, roads and lack of education. The ‘drop out’ from Primary School is very high and only a very few complete their Primary School education.

John was brought up in this slum and still lives locally. He set up this project to create employment. It is a highly organised workshop and is very creative. It has improved year on year.

The workshop has been extended, re fitted and now has internet connection. It also has new machines and is a very nice working environment, maintained perfectly both inside and out. 

Their recycled range of jewellery also creates employment for others outside of the workshop, who collect and clean bottle tops, wire, tin cans and old cooking pots to be transformed into beautiful jewellery. 

Ten of the artisans that John has trained at Zakale are now independent craftsmen and women with their own small jewellery businesses.  Without John and his workshop it is unlikely they could have broken free from the poverty cycle.

Upcycling

Not only does purchasing from Zakale Creations support fair trade practices and provide employment opportunities, but it also helps to promote the principles of upcycling. By transforming waste materials into beautiful, wearable jewellery, Zakale is reducing the amount of waste in the Mathare slum and promoting a more sustainable future.

Wearing these unique earrings is a statement about your commitment to sustainability and your support for the talented artisans of Zakale Creations. Your purchase can make a real difference in the lives of those in Mathare, and help to break the cycle of poverty in the community.

These earrings are ingenious creations from a waste product. The fabrics are all off cuts of local materials with African prints. Your earrings may be sporting the same fabric as a child's shirt or a woman's 'Kitenge'.

See more Upcycled Jewellery >>

Specifications

Drop 7 cm.
Width 3 cm.
Nickel free hooks
Fair trade
Made in Kenya