While the majority of South Africans are complaining about unemployment, poverty and hunger, two formerly unemployed men are making ends meet through discarded cardboard boxes and “green bar soap”. Tshilidzi Netshandamule (23) and Malondi Rakhivhani (26) make sculptures from cardboard boxes at Makhuvha village, outside Thohoyandou.

The mastermind behind the initiative, Tshilidzi, said he learnt the art from his cousin, a former prisoner. “My cousin learnt the art in prison and taught me all the tricks. After realizing that I could not do it alone, I approached my friend, Malondi, who stays at Makonde village. We started our art work in 2003 and since then, we have never looked back. I told myself that I would never engage myself in criminal activities, but I will work hard to improve my life.”

The two friends sculpt animals and other decorative objects like flower pots.

“There is more to our art than ordinary imaging and painting. We make sure that we use our creativity to make attractive sculptures that will attract potential buyers,” said Malondi.

Tshilidzi explains how they do their artwork.

“We go out and look for discarded cardboard boxes. We mostly use those soft ones found inside packs of eggs. We then mix it with water and green bar soap to make the desired sculptures. We then apply decorative paint to make sure that the sculptures are attractive.”

Although the future looks bright for the two friends, they say there are setbacks that they come across on a daily basis.

Malondi added: “We sometimes run short of green bar soap because we do not have a fixed income. A shortage of working space also affects our production as we work in an empty space. We also need people who can help us to market our products because few people know that we are producing sculptures in our rural village. We can sell at least two sculptures per week and it is far better than others who are just waiting for miracles to happen…”

The sculptures start from R20 to R120, depending on the size desired by the customer.