San Bushman Bracelet

Ostrich Shell Bracelet

This carefully hand crafted ostrich egg shell bracelet was made by one of the ladies in the Tsodilo Hills, Botswana San family.

The empty eggshells are broken into the size desired by the artisan, who shapes each bead individually. The rough pieces of shell are drilled one by one using a sharpened piece of wire or nail. The small beads are strung together and filed on a whetstone or otherwise sanded into a uniform disk.

Many hours of work goes into each bracelet and the bracelet makers can be found gathered together in the shade of a tree working on their projects while catching up on the day’s  events.