Ghana recycled glass beads

19 Jun Ghana recycled glass beads

I first came across these beautiful tribal beads whilst on holiday in South Africa. Loved them so much that I made my family drive far out of Knysna town to speak to a lovely French couple, who told me the origin of these fabulous recycled beads is the African west coast, in Ghana. I went on a detective job to buy these directly from the source and now proudly buy from local connections in Ghana.

African recycled glass beads are hand-made by the Krobo tribe in Southern Ghana. The Krobo tribe is among the oldest and most famous makers of beads in the world.

In Ghana, beads played a role for centuries in traditional Krobo culture where they are used for many different ceremonies such as birth, marriage, death and coming of age rituals such as Dipo, where girls wear a large number of beads and perform special dances. African beads are also used as a symbol of status, and they are worn by community leaders and chiefs.

Craftsmen of the Krobos tribe are among the oldest and most famous makers of wonderfully colourful powdered glass beads in Africa. The colours of the beads are important for the occasion they are used; gold is a much-used colour and represent wealth, maturity and prosperity. Blue beads are associated with affection and tenderness, and white and blue in combination evoke femininity and worn by women.

Powder glass beads are made from recycled, reused scrap glass and empty glass bottles. The beads are translucent or semi-translucent, and they receive their perforations, as well as their final shapes, after firing in a kiln.

We supply them with a standard by which they are transformed into a beautiful object. The glass beads are strung on raffia, which compliments the rugged nature of the beads. You will find an array of stunning colours in our web shop. Wear them or use as fabulous colour accents around the house.