But what they do have is grit and imagination and a desire to make their families' lives better. The artists use recycled tea bags as their canvases - and they are painting themselves out of poverty.

Used tea bags are collected and dried in the African sun. Then they are emptied of leaves and carefully ironed. Finally, each tea bag is painstakingly painted. They work mostly at home during these early phases so they can care for their families while they work. Sometimes the little ones help by emptying out tea leaves.

The group gathers together to assemble the finished products: greeting cards, notepads, journals, ornaments, candles, coasters, trinket boxes, and tea light holders. They'll make special designs by request, but ordinarily they just paint "what is in our heads".

One of the artisans, Nomsa, recently earned enough money from painting tea bags to move from an inadequate shack to a solid new house. Nomsa said, "The most wonderful thing in the world is hearing the rain on the roof and knowing that my children are warm and dry."

Our History

The story began in 1996 when Jill Heyes moved to South Africa from England. Seeing the poverty in the local "informal settlement," Imazamo Yethu, Jill wanted to help. She began teaching some local women crafts. They unsuccessfully attempted to sell paper mache and potato printing products, but they didn’t give up. Fortunately so, for in 2000, Original T-Bag Designs was created.

The original group of ladies have become skilled and talented artists. T-Bags now employs 15 permanent staff and a number of additional employees work part-time. In addition, 10 people with disabilities from within the community are employed to assist with sanding products. Their workshop is a tourist destination and they sell their products at the workshop, at Cape Town’s Waterfront Market, and in Europe and the United States.