Wonder Welders Website
In 2004 a group of adult polio victims, many of whom were begging on the streets in Dar es Salaam Tanzania, came together with help from Blue Mango Photography, funds from The Dar es Salaam Charity Goat Races and great support from big companies in Dar who donated their scrap metal, and established a welding workshop. Here, with training from a local welding expert they learnt how to weld and, using recycled scrap metal, started very quickly to make animals, birds and boats which were sold locally.
After a few months we were very lucky to have Heather Cumming, a professional artist/welder from Scotland, come to Dar es Salaam for two months to train the Welders in the finer art of metal sculpture. After her visit we held an exhibition and with the funds raised we officially launched the project and registered as the WONDER WORKSHOP, a Tanzanian NGO. Since then we have gone from strength to strength and are now training more and more disabled Tanzanians as well as producing world class metal artwork. We are fully self-sufficient and are expanding rapidly to keep up with demand.
In the last 3 years we have expanded the workshops to include a handmade recycled paper project, handmade wooden toys, natural handmade soaps and recycled glass bottle beads. We currently employ 40 people on a full-time basis as well as a further 4 in our out-sourcing satellite workshop. The sales of the items sustain the project and pay all the members all a good salary so that they can support themselves and their families. In the future we hope to continue to expand the project and have more polio victims come and join us as well as start exporting and exhibiting our work overseas.
OUR WORKSHOPS As well as undertaking special commissions, Wonder Workshop products are available from our workshops in Dar es Salaam, where you can meet the artists and see the welders, paper-makers, carpenters, soap-makers and bead-makers in action.
OPENING TIMES: Monday-Friday from 8.30am-5pm, and on Saturdays from 9am-2pm.
LOCATION: Plot 1372 Karume Road, Msasani District, Dar-Es-Salaam
DIRECTIONS: From town drive towards Namanga. At the junction on Ali Hassan Mwinyi at Protea Hotel, Oyster Bay turn right onto Haile Selassie. Continue on this road past St Peters Church on your left, make the left onto Karume Road just before the TTCL office (TTCL should be on your right as you make the turn). Follow Karume Road, you will come to a fork in the road, head right. You will then come to another fork in the road stay left, this will keep you on Karume Road. Continue on this road until the end of the road, we are the last plot on the right hand side, opposite Twiga Pub.
NOTE: Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road is also refered to as Bagamoyo Road. Also watch out for the Wonder Workshops signs as you make your way to our location.
WHERE TO BUY WONDER WORKSHOP PRODUCTS By purchasing a piece of Wonder Workshop art you are supporting this group of disabled Tanzanians, enabling them to have a sustainable source of income and better standard of living as well as helping us to promote recycling as everything we make is made from recycled waste.
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