(Pic: Maureen Graham; Bongani Luthuli; Mluleki Madlala and Siyakudumisa Mavume)The Umcebo Trust Eco Tree created by Umcebo Trust at uShaka was a great success at the recent Design Indaba in Cape Town.
“The tree was like a beacon at the Indaba and drew a wide cross section of people,” says a proud Robin Opperman, who is the director of Umcebo which focuses on creative pieces made from recyclable materials.
“This is our third year at the Indaba,” he goes on to say. “We go each year for a number of reasons. Firstly, it allows us to display our work and improve our profile not only as technicians, but also designers. Secondly, we are able to meet and network with a wide variety of organizations at a national and international level. Thirdly, it allows us to test the Umcebo Model, as we take crafters with us, and they are tested at all levels and we find out if we are truly empowering and developing people. Finally, we make contacts which we feed off for the rest of the year, in terms of orders and collaborations.
The visit was made possible by a mix of funding from the National Arts Council, TEP and Umcebo’s Core Funder, Old Mutual, and the contingent comprised Robin Opperman, three crafters, a 6m high Eco Tree and a brand new collection of chandeliers.
The Umcebo Trust Eco Tree is created by main designer Robin Opperman assisted by Mike McFadyean, a technical expert, a consulting engineer and a PVC Welder as well as three crafters. It measures 6.5m high and has a 2m square base. It has a core of recycled PVC pipes; a wire framework; a cladding of eco beads (made from 2l bottles), wine corks and the tops of bottles and leaves made from scrap wire and leftover beads. Umcebo is in the process registering the work in the Guinness Book of Records.
The Umcebo Trust Eco Tree is currently at the shop at uShaka and it is hoped that it will go to the House and Garden Show. “There is also a possibility that it will soon be sold to a Canadian Group,” says Robin. “They do music performances with children, which are themed around the environment and conservation. They are keen to come out here and perform around it with local children, take it back to Canada for further performance and then to locate it in a collection in a public museum. We are also in talks with eThekwini for warehouse space as a companion to our shop. We want to be able to display the tree there permanently, in between appearances and when we sell the tree to work on the 2011 piece.”
More information from Robin Opperman on 083 793 3408 or email: robin@umcebotrust.co.za or visit www.umcebotrust.co.za
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