Bar and O necklace in recycled copper

Show your support for the handmade world with this stylish and sustainable copper necklace from Zambia.

Each link in this bar and O necklace is meticulously made by hand from upcycled electrical wire. Finished with a ring using recycled copper from old hot water heaters, this eco-friendly necklace is made with fair labour practices and ensures that young Zambian women are lifting their lives through trade, not aid.

• Empowering women
• Use of recycled materials
• Eco-friendly
• Fair labour practices

“An amazing transformation takes place when discarded electrical wire and a corroded copper hot water heater is hacked apart with a chisel, cleaned up and recycled or upcycled and discarded electrical wire into jewellery. A group of young, inexperienced women, have undergone a similar metamorphosis; with no previous jewellery making experience have taught themselves metalsmithing using copper. Their skills have continually expanded and some women were trained in silversmithing.

For women to make metal jewellery in Zambia defies gender norms. Women generally do not use tools, particularly hammers, power tools, or torches. Typically, a women’s initiative is expected to sew or knit. 

It’s truly amazing to watch the women deftly work with their tools and create their designs while empowering themselves.”

Dawn Close, Founder