Glass beads have been made for centuries throughout Africa. Using a technique that has been handed down from generation to generation, our makers begin by compressing glass into a dry grain, and heating the grain so that the pieces form together. The recycled glass is rushed into a porcelain cast. The stem of a cassava leaf is used to make the hole. The beads are baked in a furnace causing the glass to melt together and the cassava stem to burn, leaving only the grainy textured "sandglass" bead behind.