Masifunde nominated for Design Indaba’s Most Beautiful Object

A bracelet crafted through jewellery-making project  Izandla Zethu has been nominated for the prestigious Design Indaba national award for Most Beautiful Object in SA.

The project, run by the non-profit organisation Masifunde Learner Development, is part of the Out of School youth programme that supports youngsters in Walmer Township who are no longer in school.

Through the project, young people learn skills that teach them to turn raw material into beautiful jewellery by upcycling corrugated iron. 

Masifunde Learner Development is a non-governmental organisation founded in 2004, which runs development programmes for children and youth in Nelson Mandela Bay. 

Izandla Zethu programme facilitator Luvuyo Phongolo said: "At our workshop, we turn something of no value into something great.

“The nomination by Design Indaba is an amazing success for our programme and we hope to find more supporters and voters for our African jewels.”

A bracelet called Delicate has been nominated.

The bracelet is made using corrugated iron, a material commonly used to build shelters in informal settlements.

According to the nominator, Blessing Ngobeni, it symbolises the transformation of poverty into beauty through creativity.

“Other than the fact that it is handmade from recycled material, I like the fact that it is made from corrugated iron sheet  — a piece of material that we as South Africans are familiar with and many hold dear.

“The material of the bracelet got me thinking about the meaning of beauty and even adds to my view about beauty, that it has to be honest and truthful,” Ngobeni said.

The Most Beautiful Object in SA exhibition will be held at the Design Indaba Festival, which runs from today to Friday. 

Members of the public are encouraged to vote for their preferred object of beauty. 

Voting lines are open on the Design Indaba website  and voting closes on Friday.