Kabelo Tlhabanelo
In the eyes of Tseko Monyamane, trash and discarded alcohol bottles are like gold dust.
Tseko, who’s from Heilbron, Free State collects them from dumping sites, washes them and decorates them with colourful wool.
After turning them into imaginative artworks, he sells them as decorations for people’s homes.
“I turn dirty alcohol bottles into beautiful art and put food on my family’s table,” he told Scrolla.Africa.
To Tseko, his craft is his livelihood, but there is also an artistic process of thought behind it.
“Have you ever thought something that has been thrown away could be loved by many people?”
Tseko, who now resides in Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng, said he loved art but he had to think outside of the box to be unique.
A set of three bottles sells for about R200.
He said this was also his way of saving the environment.
“I urge people to use their God given talents to make a living. One person’s trash could be another’s next meal,” he said.
Thabang Leeuw, a customer, said he bought a set of the decorated bottles from Tseko after he saw his work on social media.
