Push along wire bus toy.
Although found in most sub Saharan African countries these toys are most easily available in southern Africa and are said to have originated amongst the poor youth of South Africa. Traditionally made by boys between the ages of eight to eighteen years as toys for their own use, adults saw the potential for selling them to tourists and there is now a thriving commercial market for wire toys. This has provided a reliable source of income for many poor communities. Although some toys are sold directly to visiting tourists, others are exported either for sale or for exhibition as works of art in galleries and museums. Despite the commercial production of wire toys, young boys continue to make them for their own use and it is still common to see children playing with homemade toys throughout Africa. Although this bus is a simple undecorated example, many wire toys have accessories made from scrap materials. Empty boot shoe polish or coffee tins, aluminium soft drinks cans, bottle tops, coloured plastic electrical wire, pieces of wood etc are all commonly used. Many toys also have more moving parts than this bus. The design of the toys often reflects the environment of the maker, with boys in urban areas creating comfortable cars and buses and boys in rural areas making trucks and farm vehicles. The design and technology skills shown by boys with little or no formal education are extremely high and one of the objectives of exhibiting these toys in more materially wealthy countries is to inspire young people to develop such skills.
South Africa wire working has many variations one of which is the wrapping of objects in coloured plastic-covered electrical wire. This use of pliable coloured wire has an interesting history. There is a clear link between weaving and wirework in South Africa since they require similar skills and although most weaving there is now done by women, it was originally a male dominated craft. When male migrant workers began to move to urban areas, unable to find grasses with which to weave, they used coloured wire to make lids for beer pots (izimbenge). This is said to be the origin of coloured wire working in South Africa .
