It seemed surreal to be standing in the middle of in an entire village made of marble. But these weren’t palaces or majals. The inhabitants of this marble village in Rajasthan, India are desperately poor and lack basic amenitites like running water and electricity in their homes. Traditionally nomads, these families chose to set up their homes in the middle of a dusty industrial zone so they could repurpose, re-use and upcycle the waste from an adjacent factory to build dwellings. I visited the village with I-India, a not-for-profit organisation in Rajasthan, India. The dedicated staff provide education and support to some of Rajasthan’s most desperate children, feeding 3000 kids a daily meal without which their bellies would remain painfully empty. I-India provides services to this area. I-India set up a school for this community, as there were no educational facilities available to them in the area. To see the basic facilities that these children learn in with such gratitude was so inspiring. Read about it HERE If you’d like to read about […] Read More
My fiancé James (Yes, he proposed!!!! 🙂 ) has an unmoving love of turning other people’s rubbish into beautiful, usable things. His latest major upcyling project was to build this “Tiny”. Inspired by the Tiny House Movement, James (AKA The Upcyclist) wanted to build a comfortable and beautiful living space for someone who wants to downsize their life. Overwhelmed by consumerism and overconsumption, there is a growing trend amongst Australian’s to declutter and simplify life. This “Tiny” was built as a studio/bedroom/study, to be used in addition to an existing dwelling, much like an additional bedroom, but on wheels (which means it is mobile and doesn’t need require council approval in most parts of Australia). James built it with 98% recycled materials. Most of these came from The Bower in Marrickville, and the rest came from other recycling yards and donations by tiny house enthusiasts. The building gained the attention of the press, proving to be very interesting to the public. Chanel 7 news, most major newspapers and many upcycling blogs have reported on the Tiny. It is even gained attention in The UK, India, Italy and Russia. Every time we google it, we find more articles, […] Read More
