VANDERBIJLPARK. – Budd Street in CE1 is known for its lovely old trees, providing shade in the summer and colourful leaves in the winter.

Recently, the trees in the street have all been numbered, while the one in front of number 31 has been adorned with extra decorations.

This is all part of Bamba Bantu Zonke’s new campaign to preserve the trees in the street.

Nina du Toit Saunders who spearheads the project along with Iga-Makhulu Diniso, says they want to get the council to trim the trees again.

“It’s so sad that people just destroy these trees without knowing the history behind them or appreciating their value,” she said.

Bamba Bantu Zonke means all the people together and the group consists of members from Diniso Arts Complex as well as Afro IGNITE Consortium.

They combine music and performing arts with creative products made out of upcycled and discarded items to educate and create awareness about the importance of the environment and mutual understanding among cultures.

Among their creative pieces are upcycled kettles that now boast creative designs with succulent plants planted inside them.

“We do heritage kettles as well, where we would add information and artwork on the old kettles depicting the family who owned its history,” says Nina.

Their special bags where people can put paper, tin, and plastics are also a hit as they don’t take up much space and are perfect for smaller households. There are also handbags made from old curtains and clothes and old-school needlework products.“

Annetjie Brown is handy with the needle and crochet hook. You know, these are skills that the younger generation doesn’t know how to do. We would love to teach them all these old-fashioned handcrafts again.”

Nina and Iga-Makhulu have known each other for decades and have been working on and off together since they were both teachers in Sebokeng in die early 1990s.

“We share a love for the Vaal Triangle, teaching and creating awareness. Nina deals with the environment, and I with the enviro-mind,” says Iga-Makhulu who is a visual artist and has a theatre in Sebokeng.

The group strives to unite people through social cohesion across cultures and generations. “We have to learn to listen to each other’s stories,” he said.

The group believes that the greater Vaal Triangle has a rich heritage and that there is untapped potential to bring more tourism to the area.

“We are thinking of establishing Art Routes for visitors spanning across the towns and the townships.”

Nina says they have been training and equipping people with practical skills for years now and they will continue doing it no matter if they are funded or not.

To learn more about their projects and artwork, contact Nina at 082 470 5924. They are available to teach more about tourism development programmes for the Vaal, Theatre and Art Development programmes, Urban Agricultural Development, and Upcycled Crafts. The team can also provide social cohesion or team-building events for private or corporate functions.