Skip to content 
If you are interested in supporting this initiative, please email zakhejuluka@gmail.com.
NPO Registration: 309-892
Zakhe Juluka Art Centre
The name says it all: build yourself through sweat. For us, land means more than property — it encompasses culture, relationships, ecosystems, social systems, spirituality, and law. Land is the earth, the water, the air, and all that lives within these ecosystems. Our mission is to work the land creatively, to ensure sustainability and positive relationships. Our wealth is in the land.
As an indigenous instrument maker, I know how important it is to preserve our instruments not just by playing them, but by growing the materials sacred to the land — calabashes, bow trees, and bamboo. We teach the next generation how to plant, harvest, and craft instruments, and finally to use them for performance and sacred ritual purposes.
We also offer workshops in photography, music business, woodwork, and skills development, ensuring that young people are not only preserving heritage but also building sustainable futures.
Mission / Objectives
To promote, develop, and preserve indigenous instruments and the knowledge systems of isintu ne ngoma — the people and the song.
Vision
- To preserve and celebrate cultural heritage.
- To create meaningful leisure opportunities and new job pathways.
- To provide informal education, especially for youth (ages 16–25).
- To equip young people with creative and practical skills that open alternatives to poverty and unemployment.
- To establish a sustainable farm for instrument-making, creative education, and an indigenous music store.
Values
- Fostering appreciation for arts and culture in all forms.
- Promoting the production of cultural, national, and intellectual knowledge.
- Providing opportunities for the public to engage with professional creative environments.
- Supporting cultural environments that grow artists and community potential.
- Encouraging the dissemination of creative and cultural mediums for social change.
Who We Serve
Our base is in Inanda and Maphephetheni, working with young people aged 16–27. The farm is more than land — it is a living classroom for:
- Growing calabashes, bow trees, and bamboo.
- Indigenous instrument making.
- Photography and music business studies.
- Entrepreneurship and creative education.
- Theater, gallery, and workshop spaces.
Creativity for Social Change
Creativity opens the mind. A society that loses its creative side becomes imprisoned, closed off from possibility. At Zakhe Juluka Art Centre, we believe creativity inspires collective thinking, helps us overcome prejudice, and reminds us that creativity is not about IQ — it is about imagination, courage, and vision.
Our goal is to support underserved communities by offering tangible, creative ways to express reflection, healing, and hope. Whether through making instruments, developing new skills, or performing on stage, we believe creativity and imagination are key drivers of positive social change.
From art and design to film, music, and activism, creativity has always been a tool to raise awareness, provoke thought, and mobilize communities toward building a better society. Our work ensures that this legacy continues — rooted in the land, carried by the people, and voiced through the instruments of our ancestors.
