More room for creativity

At the handover of the new building are Zikulise Community Upliftment Project Executive Director - Julie Jonson, Jeff McGregor (CSI Electrical), Rob Coetzee (Edge to Edge Construction), Greg Hendricks (TJ Architects), Terry Chrystal (nDawonye Networks Civil Engineers), Johan du Plessis (TJ Architects), Gerrie Breedt (Ulungeni Consulting Electrical Engineers), Edith Nyahuye and Bryton Chidamba (Bingelela Consulting Professionals Quantity Surveyors)

Empangeni's Zikulise Arts and Crafts Centre now has more room to be creative and increase its community skills development programme. After two years of planning and implementation, the centre’s new building was officially occupied. The extension provides administration offices and additional space to accommodate more trainees, including Zikulise’s ceramic kilns so that pottery training can begin again in earnest. The extension to the original building was made possible when adjacent land was made available by the City of uMhlathuze. ‘The building phase was completed in time and there were no problems at all,’ said Zikulise’s Executive Director, Julie Jonson. Major funding for the project came from the European Union, the ABSA Foundation and Exxaro KZN Sands. ‘Without these funds it would not have been possible to extend our training facilities,’ she said. Zikulise was launched in 2004. and in 2007 established itself at the Empangeni Arts and Crafts Centre on Turnbull Street (opposite the Empangeni museum).