The Glass Recycling Project began in 2018 when we decided to combine our passion for art, our craftsmanship, and our desire to contribute to the recycling efforts in the Luangwa Valley.

There are no formal recycling programs or regular waste collection services in South Luangwa or most of Zambia. As a result, much of the waste ends up discarded by the roadside, in pits, or in landfill sites.

Given that Tribal Textiles is located on the edge of one of Zambia’s most beautiful national parks—home to an abundance of wildlife—we felt it was important to play our part in cleaning up the local environment.  

We started by partnering with local lodges, who frequently drop off bags of glass bottles at our workshop. With an initial investment in basic tools, including a small kiln and glass-cutting equipment, we began transforming these discarded bottles into beautiful, handcrafted products.

A few years later, with the purchase of a larger kiln, we’ve seen such demand that it’s been a challenge to keep up with orders! 

One day a terrible fire broke out in a forest. Frightened, all of the animals fled their homes, feeling helpless, except for one little hummingbird.

The hummingbird swooped into the stream for a few drops of water and went back to the forest to put out the fire. Then it went back to the stream again, again, and again.

All of the other animals watched in disbelief: “Your wings will burn, your beak is too small, and one drop at a time you’ll never put out the fire!”

The hummingbird, without skipping a beat, looked back and said,

“At least, I am doing my part.”

The Glass Recycling Workshop began with Mwamba Kasonde [Pictured right], who had already been working as part of the Luangwa Artisan collective, carving wood products for tourists visiting the Luangwa Valley.

In 2021, he was joined by Niven Chilaizya [Pictured Left], a prior gate man to Tribal Textiles. Niven was already interested in the Glass Workshop, and so it was natural progression for him to join Mwamba running the workshop.  

We have had a huuuuuge learning curve when it comes to glass recycling, as unfortunately there is not a lot of information out there on it. Especially when using back to basics technqiues.

We are super fortunate to have had a kick start from with our first small kiln through PEP Zambia and then a larger new kiln in 2023 via Planetera. We are super greatful for all of the support we have had so far to kick start this project.

All of our glass products use several different stages and techniques to get to the final product, we are super proud of pushing through new innovative ideas.