Wonder Welders: Cool Recycled Metal Art by Tanzanians with Polio
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 10.30.07
That polio is still disabling people in this day and age is an unfortunate reality, but a group of victims in Tanzania has not let it stop them from becoming pioneering eco-artists. In 2004, they joined together to form a welding workshop in Dar es Salaam called Wonder Welders. With assistance from a local welding expert, they learned how to weld using recycled scrap metal, transforming the waste material into animals, like this lovely elephant; birds; and boats, which were sold locally.
The welders are now fully self-sufficient and receive special commissions from national and international buyers. In the last two years, they have expanded the project to include handmade recycled paper and paper products, handmade wooden toys made from sustainably-harvested Tanzanian woods like coconut and mpodo and natural handmade soaps. Wonder Welders employs 27 people on a full-time basis and the sales of the items sustains the project and pays them all a good salary so that they can support themselves and their families, according to the web site.
Wonder Welders' products are available at six shops in Dar, including the welders' workshop, and Trade Routes, a shop in Arusha, Tanzania.:: Via Wonder Welders
Eco-artist? That's a stretch. Welding is hardly eco-friendly unless they are using solar powered arc-welders, or the like. I'd rather see that kind of energy used to turn scrap metal into a bike or a pump for a well.