Recently in Ahmedabad I got on the hunt for upcycled rope – made from plastic and foil packing waste – which I’ve spotted throughout Gujarat over the past years. I came across street-side rope spinners, distributors using scooters and rickshaws plus a number of examples of the rope applied to bed bases. At the hands of savvy Indian micro-entrepreneurs, packaging life-cycles are extended and waste is transformed.
Originally posted, with more images, on Random Specific
Photos from Meanest Indian.
We've written before about lengthening life-cycles of packaging at the hands of micro-entrepreneurs in India. Recently in Ahmedabad I was heartened to find, not only more examples of foiled sachets repurposed as rope to form bed bases – but also remnant fabric being used for the same thing.
Local REculture meeting local needs.
Auto clutch repair and recycle at Mumbai's Chor Bazaar (Theives Market)
Stumbled across children down an alleyway at Dharavi who had made a makeshift temple out of old cigarette packets.
Happy New Year from the REculture team.
Photo from Meanest Indian
All your mobile needs covered – including repair – from the slums of Nairobi.
(note the brand colour link to Safari-com + M-Pesa : )
Fresh off the plane in Mumbai I hit the streets this afternoon and stumbled on a re-culture gem. Nestled behind a lean-to stall on Grant Rd were two ingenious guys fashioning lanterns out of scrap metal and glass. They cut the salvaged glass into small sections to create the lantern casing. Given that Diwali is just around the corner – they're bound to make a killing with very low material costs. I wasn't the only one fascinated by their street-side enterprise – a small fan-club had gathered round and were equally impressed with their lucrative venture.
The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) have awarded their poster competition prize to a Croatian design duo who created a poster out of garbage to proclaim their message.
Their rationale included the explanation: "Our process of thought started with the five basic needs of every human being: water, food, health, a home, and energy. As we believe industrial design can fulfill these needs, and the perfect way to do it is through the development of recycling and reusable energy technologies."
I'd hasten to add that industrial designers need not view sustainability is as a top-down process – indeed many of the bottom-up citings here on REculture epitomise the Don't Throw Anything Away catch-cry by maximising items that others may discard and dispose of. There is much that designers can learn from the wisdom at the base of the pyramid – rather than being fueled by the guilt of abundance to curb waste they are propelled by the constraints of scarcity to sustain.
(via the good folk at Core 77)
