How can we reduce plastic waste in the Amazonas while benefiting the local indigenous communities?

solution

We created a book of easy tutorials to re-use and upcycle plastic bottles to improve their daily life, categorized in four chapters: the home where you can turn a large clear bottle into a skylight through defraction, or toys to generate creativity and fun for the younger kids. Our purpose with Replastic is to empower local capacities, while reducing plastic waste in the river. Our books are currently being used by the nonprofits of Omacha and Natutama in Puerto Narino, Colombia, an indigenous community in the middle of the jungle, for sustainability and craft workshops. Our ethos and movement behind RePlastic is rethinking that plastic isn't trash at all, it's your next creation.

process

We created this book after two weeks of living with the indigenous community and conducting field research. We spoke to many community leaders who asked us to create a book the children could use for workshops and to promote sustainability. We published the book in two formats, in first a classic book binding and the other as individual cards attached by a bold red elastic that the teachers and the foundation could easily distribute to a larger number of children in workshops or classrooms with a single book. We chose tools that are easily accessible by Amazonian communities.

Research

Prototyping

Development