A distinctive cultural highlight in Piggs Peak is Tintsaba. The guided workshop tour offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creations and has one clear planning requirement: it must be booked in advance. Arrange your visit directly with Tintsaba.

What the workshop tour shows

On the tour, you’ll see wild sisal being processed and dyed, as well as baskets, jewellery and home accessories being made. This combination reveals two sides of the craft: workshop activities and the different forms of the finished creations. Visitors can also meet the women who make the items. The tour therefore combines a look at the work itself with an opportunity to meet the makers. For anyone interested in handicrafts, it offers a specific reason to include Tintsaba in a trip to Piggs Peak.

The story behind Tintsaba’s founding

Tintsaba was founded in 1985 by Sheila Freemantle. Her stated vision was to work with women in rural Eswatini towards their personal and financial independence. Freemantle died in 2012. The year of the founding and the year of her death mark two different points in time: 1985 is the year Tintsaba was founded, and 2012 is the year its founder died. Her vision gives the historical background a social focus. For visitors, this offers a second perspective alongside the handicrafts: the story of how Tintsaba began and the goal Freemantle had when she founded it.

Piggs Peak and the wider Hhohho region

Maguga Dam is in the Hhohho region, and the road from Mbabane to Piggs Peak crosses the dam. If your route follows this road, Maguga can serve as a named landmark along the way. The dam wall is 115 metres high, and the dam holds 332 million cubic metres of water. These figures describe different aspects of the facility: its height and its capacity. They relate to Hhohho, not to the local description of Piggs Peak. This keeps the regional context distinct from Tintsaba’s cultural offering in Piggs Peak.

In the wider Hhohho destination, Maguga Lodge offers guided hiking tours led by local community members. This is a different focus from Tintsaba’s workshop tour: here, the emphasis is on hiking with a local guide; there, it is on handicrafts. If you plan to join the hikes, check dates and availability directly with Maguga Lodge. This lets you consider the regional hiking option separately rather than equating it with Tintsaba or what Piggs Peak itself offers.

If you’re also considering hiking tours with Maguga Lodge, include Hhohho as a regional planning focus and check dates directly with the lodge. This helps you weigh the cultural and hiking aspects separately without grouping them under a single place name.

Discover more destinations: Mbabane, Lobamba, Bulembu

Return to the wider travel overview: Hhohho.