Rose Pen -- Recycled Soda (soft-drink) Cans

This pen was hand made by a man called Golden. His story accompanies the pen...

There was once a man named Golden who lived in Cape Town. He had no home and no work, but a wife called Phumla and a family of five daughters. They settled in the sprawling squatter camp called Khayelitsha outside the city and they built themselves a shack. Phumla started a creche, caring for the neighborhood children, and Golden went in search of work. But work was scarce and the family was often hungry.

One night Golden had a dream. He dreamed of a rubbish dump filled with flowers, yellow and white and a voice told him to pick and sell and he would have money for food. On awakening, Golden hurried to the dump, but though he searched from end to end he found no flowers.

The next night he dreamed the same dream. Again he went in search of flowers but returned home disappointed and empty handed.

On the third night the dream came again. He was sure the dream was the voice of God. But where were the flowers? Why could he not find them?

For the third time Golden returned to the dump. This time, in the course of this searching he noticed piles of soft-drink cans, yellow and white. Suddenly he thought he understood. He gathered up a few cans and hurried home.

In his shack he set to work with a pair of scissors and a pot of paint. After many setbacks he finally fashioned a flower just like the one in his dream; a perfect daisy with a long green stem, pointed white petals and a yellow center.

Golden makes flowers from other people's waste and sells them to make a living. As well as daisies he now makes roses and sunflowers. He makes each one himself, by hand.