Creativity & community in Dinokeng

The driving force behind the successful Makers Village in Irene has now implemented the same concept in Cullinan, creating an incubator and exhibition space for entrepreneurs and artists. Platteland dropped in at this budding creative hub to find out what it's all about and came away impressed.

- JOHAN VAN ZYL

Do you remember the mixed grill, a popular dish on every platteland menu in the '70s and '80s? That's what you suddenly crave as you walk into the new Makers Village in Cullinan on a Friday morning on an empty stomach, cued by the aroma of something delicious sizzling on the coals at Fani Ndlovu's stand outside.

We were directed here by a Cullinan resident: "Just go down Oak Avenue until you get to No. 103; you can't miss the flutter of colourful cloths." We have no problem finding it. We walk through a large garden with tables underneath trees and under canopies of multicoloured strips of cloth to reach a stoep that's a gathering and exhibition space, complete with a Pudo locker system.

The inside of the huge shed-like building is reminiscent of a bazaar, a cheerful, colourful amalgam of a market, mini shopping centre, art gallery, workshop and restaurant. An impressive array of handmade items catches your eye: handbags, baskets, lampshades, coffee mugs, clothes, paintings, crochet and knitting, shelves with plants, pottery, paper art, wire- and beadwork, toys, hats, rugs, ornaments, pots and other decor pieces for the home and garden, scatter cushions, soap and bath salts, preserves, biscuits, sweets...

Many of these items are not only sold here; you can also watch some of them being made. On the one side of the market hall, workshop stations have been set up with tools and other equipment, such as sewing and hemming machines, table saws, a laser cutter and a 3D printer. Signs point the way to the "Upcycle studio", "Blacksmith", "Wood workshop", "Ceramic studio", "Sewing & design studio", and so on. There's even a clothes bank with second-hand clothes in an adjoining room.