A working production environment where artisans build precision skills in gemstone cutting, jewellery manufacturing, quality control and production management.

Mukuni Goldsmith & Lapidary Atelier

Where: Mukuni Village, near Livingstone, Zambia.
Opens: In Development
Designed with: TBC
Local partner: Mukuni Development Trust.

Why a building matters

You cannot teach goldsmithing without extraction, ventilation, secure metal storage, reliable power and benches at the right height. You cannot cut stones commercially on a folding table. The atelier is the difference between a course and a trade.

It does two jobs. It is the training facility for the diploma. It is also a working production workshop, so that instructors keep their hands in, graduates have somewhere to work, and orders can be filled to a standard an international buyer will accept.

Community terms

The atelier operates under a written agreement with the Mukuni Development Trust covering land use, local employment and how the community benefits from the work. Wages and benefit-sharing are set out in that agreement rather than left to goodwill.

Design residency

The atelier hosts a residency for designers, researchers and makers who work alongside Zambian craftspeople on a defined challenge. Each residency publishes its location, dates, selection process and outputs. Next residency: INSERT dates and application route, or mark this programme "in development" and remove the link