Over one year ago we wrote a post, Proof of Concept (https://www.wasteforlife.org/2017/09/28/proof-of-concept/), detailing the replacement of an asbestos toilet block roof with our prototype composite roof made from waste HDPE plastic reinforced with rice husks and banana fibres. The roof has endured more than a year of harsh, northwestern Sri Lankan weather and has become the local exemplar of how to solve both a waste and an asbestos problem that is technically feasible and aesthetically appealing. We received an email the other day from the Paalam Project – for whom we built the roof – asking us to consider designing and building an entire house from the same materials. They suggested that we help set up a small production facility in Jaffna along the lines of what we have been able to do at Yaal Fibre (https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/yaalfibre/). Housing, of course, has been our dream since the very early beginnings of Waste for Life in Lesotho.  We’re discussing this with our team to see how far we can run with the idea.

On the same technical/aesthetically appealing note, these roof tiles as well as the notebooks, coasters, and clipboards from Yaal Fibre, have been included in the prestigious, Fibre-Fixed Composites in Design Exhibition at the Design Museum in Gent (https://www.designmuseumgent.be/en/events/fibre-fixed). Kudos to all of our team that have been able to create such synergy between art and science.