Building a company capable of promoting virtuous practices at a social and environmental level may seem like an action bordering on utopia. But that's not how it is Michael Tetteh, Ghana's only glass blower.
The Ghanaian craftsman's project draws its origins and nourishment from collection of glass scrap occupying the streets and rubbish dumps of the capital Accra. Michael Tetteh transforms this safety-hazardous waste into colorful and surprising works of glass art, which are making their way around the world.
An invitation to recycle
Tetteh's intent is to contribute to a structural change in the management of glassy waste. According to the Observatory for Economic Complexity, Ghana imports approx $300 million in glass and ceramic products.
From this point of view, recycling therefore means protecting and promoting the country at both an environmental and an economic level.
A path of (self) training
Michael Tetteh, originally from the city of Odumase-Krobo, one of the epicenters of the Ghanaian glass bead tradition, learned the art of glass blowing during a stay between France and the Netherlands. And he refined the technique as a self-taught, observing numerous videos of the major international glass artists. The Ghanaian glassblower's green perseverance also prompted him to make the furnaces through the recovery of scrap metal and clay.
A revolutionary project
To the dream of a Ghana free from huge glass imports, Michael Tetteh combines an educational hope: to train young Ghanaian men and women so that they can learn the trade of blower and spread the presence of glass workshops throughout the country, in a domino effect that brings economic, social and environmental well-being.
Sources: euronews.com, africarivista.it
Image source: euronews
