An eco-friendly project supporting entrepreneurship in South Africa from TIKA

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) organized jewelry training using recyclable materials in the city of Rustenburg, located in the North-West Province of the Republic of South Africa.

Within the scope of the ‘Rustenburg Jewelry Training Project’ implemented by TIKA, training was provided for making jewelry from 20 recyclable materials. In the project, in cooperation with SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency), the institution responsible for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa, jewelry design training was given to 20 participants. The training emphasized the importance of environmental awareness, using recyclable materials in jewelry making. TIKA provided the necessary jewelry equipment and tool sets to the participants who successfully completed the training to support their production processes. At the end of the training, a certificate ceremony was held at the SEDA North West Center. In her speech at the ceremony, Refiloe Diutlweng expressed pride in the progress they made in a short time and the designs they accomplished, thanking TIKA for their contributions.

Caritus Maselesele, the Branch Manager of SEDA North West, expressed his satisfaction with the participants’ development and the employment opportunities created through this training, thanking the Republic of Turkey. Maselesele stated that he hopes the collaboration with TIKA will continue in different areas.

Abdulkadir Abukan, TIKA’s Program Coordinator in Pretoria, expressed his satisfaction with the fruitful collaboration with SEDA, stating that similar joint projects could be carried out in the future, as exemplified by the participants and the trainer Refiloe Diutlwileng.

The participants gifted a set of jewelry they produced during the training to the TIKA Office for exhibition.