Roshila Pillay A battered guitar, an ethnic Dogon drum (all the way from Mali) and a beautiful silver flute compete for centre stage. The powerful beat, soulful strumming and high-pitched strains of the flute set an upbeat African tribal tone. Three students walk to the front of the classroom at the Atteridgeville Technical College to receive their certificates for a computer course, while everyone in the class claps and whistles. It’s not your conventional graduation, but then again the Atteridge-ville Jewellery Project is not your average educational institute. “It’s about human development and potential. We invest heavily in voluntary work,” Demos Takoulas emphasises. Takoulas is the voluntary managing director of the Atteridgeville Jewellery Project. The brainchild of goldsmith Andrew Abramovitz, the operations director, and Takoulas, the project schools disadvantaged students in the art of jewellery design and creation so that they can earn an income. For the moment the directors rely on outside funding to keep the school functioning; students pay a mere R500 a year. Many of the school’s students come from townships and do not have the qualifications or financial resources to enter a tertiary institute. But for something that was only an idea two years ago, the Atteridgeville Jewellery Project has come a long way. Abramovitz noticed the glaring gap in the market for an education initiative that would not only train talented people who could not afford the standard tertiary education fees, but would also take them off the street and get them earning. Armed with Abramovitz’s goldsmith background and Takoulas’s business savvy – he’s director of studies at a computer college – the two approached various organisations for sponsorship. Meanwhile, they launched the project as a non-profit organisation. Slowly, things came together, and one-and- a-half years later they secured their first major financial coup – a R240E000 donation from AngloGold. Now in its second year, the project has 28 first- and second-year students in training. It also has a manufacturing division, the Jewellery & Crafts Manufacturing Hive, where trainees and craftspeople produce commercial products for local and foreign markets. This arm of the project is supposed to generate income to plough back into the scheme, so that it can become self-sustaining. Although it is still gathering steam, the students have already had several successes. Visvakanthi Naidoo, now a second-year student at the school, had no jewellery design background. A month after she began her studies, she was a finalist in the AngloGold Riches of Africa jewellery design competition, although she’d been pitted against professional and experienced designers. “It goes to show that when people have talent, the lack of the necessary qualifications cannot stop them,” says Takoulas.
When Isaak Molefe Nkwe lectures, he’s relaxed and converses with the students on their level, in a way all of them can relate to. Although Nkwe does not possess the proper qualifications to lecture, he does so with more passion than most lecturers do. And the jewellery pieces he makes belie his lack of experience.
Using a forge – a multipurpose piece of machinery from Mali that is made from recycled rubber tyres, tape and metal – Nkwe makes some tea. Something between a braai stand and a spinning wheel, the forge can also be used to melt gold by turning a wheel attached to it. While industries fast-track their way down the technology highway, craftsmen in Mali have been using this simple equipment for centuries to help them make stunning craftwork. With the addition of three other implements they’re set to create pieces unequalled in their unique beauty.
“We need to take a few steps back. We use the Eurocentric structure and change it to suit our African needs,” says Abramovitz. Takoulas elaborates: “The students use moulds based on European designs. At first you’ll see them making typical Eurocentric designs. Then they begin to infuse it with their sense of heritage and the township influences.” It’s a platform for expression that invests in people who have their heart in contributing to developing South Africa.
Suddenly Abramovitz grabs on to the back of Lifi Legodi’s wheelchair, and the second-year student expertly steers them on a madcap ride around the yard. There’s an entrepreneurial spirit that thrives in this atmosphere. And there’s a pioneering and innovative approach to teaching that is yielding results.