Multicoloured Beads from West Africa
This beautiful collection of 100 handmade sandcast beads is made by the Krobo people from the eastern region of Ghana – using the same traditional tools and adopting similar methods as their ancestors have done for centuries – quite remarkable.
Weighing in at approximately 200+grams, the beads in our selection measure roughly 12-30mm and have a 2mm hole.
As you can see from the photo – the beads come in a blaze of different colours – each one being uniquely different from the next - including brown, yellow, red, blue, white, and among others, green.
They’re incredibly beautiful and would provide lots of potential for creativity for those artisans with a bent on creating an amazing tribal or boho-inspired ethnic style or statement jewellery such as necklaces, bracelets, and leg bangles.
So how are these wonderful beads made?
First, old bottles, broken glass, jars, and clay are sorted into colour groups and then pulverised separately into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.
The powder of choice is poured into specially designed molds, in order to produce layers and distinctive patterned designs.
The stem of a Cassava plant is then placed through the centre of the powder to form the hole in the bead.
The molds containing the powdered layers are then heated at an extremely high temperature in crude wood-burning kilns – which initiates the powder to liquefy into a molten solution that will cook the bead to perfection - while the Cassava stem burns out.
The photo illustrates what you can expect, however, there may be some minor variations depending on availability.