All activities / Craft Skills (Bladesmithing, Pottery, Glass) / Ngwenya
Craft Skills (Bladesmithing, Pottery, Glass) in Ngwenya
A settlement on Eswatini's north-west border with South Africa, at the foot of Ngwenya Mountain and near the ancient Lion Cavern hematite mine, one of the oldest known mines on earth. Today Ngwenya is best known for its recycled-glass studio and craft complex just inside the border post.
Why here
Ngwenya is where you watch one of Africa's best-known crafts being made from rubbish. At the Ngwenya Glass studio, a team of Swazi glass-blowers turns discarded soft-drink bottles into mouth-blown tumblers, vases and the animal figurines the workshop is famous for, all from 100 percent recycled glass. From a raised walkway you look straight down onto the furnaces as the blowers gather glowing glass on the end of long irons, shape it, and lift finished pieces off with a practised swing. It is a real working factory, not a demonstration set up for tourists, and the craft has been running here since the late 1970s. The complex around it holds jewellery, basketry and candle makers, a cafe and a gallery, so a visit doubles as a place to buy directly from the makers. Ngwenya sits right at the border, so it works as a first or last stop on a trip between Johannesburg and the Ezulwini Valley.
Best months
The glass-blowers work weekdays, so the raised factory walkway that lets you watch them is open Monday to Friday; the showroom and craft shops open every day from around 08h00 to 16h00. There is no seasonality to a visit, though weekdays are the only time to see production. The site is at moderate altitude and can be cool and misty in the winter mornings from June to August. It is a relaxed, all-weather stop suitable for any age.
Getting there & around
The Ngwenya Glass complex is a few minutes inside Eswatini from the Ngwenya/Oshoek border post with South Africa, about a 30-minute drive from Mbabane on the MR3. It is easily reached by hire car and is a natural stop on the road from Johannesburg. Time your visit for a weekday to catch the glass-blowers at work; the showroom, craft outlets and cafe are open daily. Card and cash are accepted and pieces can be packed for travel.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Ngwenya Glass
OutfitterNgwenya Glass began in 1979 as a Swedish aid project and was reopened in 1987 by the Prettejohn family, who built it into one of southern Africa's best-known craft studios. Every piece is mouth-blown from 100 percent recycled glass, mostly soft-drink bottles collected across Eswatini, by a team of more than sixty local artisans. The factory near the Ngwenya border lets visitors watch the blowers at work from a raised walkway on weekdays and buy directly from the showroom daily.