By Susan Oertle | Co-Founder
The Angel Projects is thrilled to announce the launch of a brand-new project that has grown out of our ongoing Ecobricks Project: bead production. After successfully repurposing plastic and paper waste into ecobricks, we started brainstorming ways to reuse glass waste as well. The answer came to us in the form of glass bead production. We already have a small but enthusiastic group of young women who create handmade jewelry that they sell to help fund their education, so we decided to take this project to the next level by building a kiln and turning used glass bottles into glass beads. After a lot of trial and error, the kiln has been constructed on the Angel Projects' compound, and bead production has begun!
Our Ugandan staff members have been working tirelessly so that all the pieces of this new project could come together. Not only did they build the kiln, but they also tried out different clays to find the perfect one for the molds, and they made a giant mortar and pestle by hand that will be used to crush recylcled glass bottles into powder. After that, they began crushing glass, pouring beads, baking the beads in the kiln, and then cooling and polishing the beads for the final effect. After several tries, they have finally perfected the process, and our new bead production project is up and running! Now, our jewelry makers can use these handmade, one-of-a-kind beads in their bracelets, necklaces, and earrings to make them even more unique and special.
We're so happy to have launched a new project that is self-sustaining and that helps both the local economy and the environment at the same time. We're seeing big change one glass bottle and one jewelry-maker at a time, and it's all thanks to our donors! Getting started on projects like these requires the generosity of our sponsors, and we're so thankful for the role YOU've played in getting our little bead factory off the ground. Stay tuned for more opportunities to purchase the new jewelry and support our young jewelry-makers.
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