We’re here in Buenos Aires, August and September 2014, after an absence of nearly 4 years. This will be an unusually short trip for us, but the brevity belies its importance, which is one of inquiry and discovery. Though we have tried to maintain contact with our...
We’ve previously written about the fragility of recycling cooperatives, always on the cusp of economic insolvency because of equipment breakdowns, or fires, or market fluctuations in the price of recyclables, or family illnesses, even sabotage – and the...
This is the number of households in Morón, the Buenos Aires suburb, from which members of cooperativa Nueva Mente collect the weekly rubbish that they then separate, sort, and sell to recycling middlemen. Until about 1 month ago this figure described a daily routine,...
Erica Lee, engineer and WFL project manager in Buenos Aires for 5 1/2 months during 2010-2011, has written a wonderful article reflecting upon the experience for the Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy. As a volunteer project manager for educational...
The last post pictured a ‘final prototype’ of the trashbins that the youth group at Cooperativa Nueva Menta are producing for the Municipality of Moròn. Clients being what they are, the design has been modified, and these are the actual bins being readied...
The final bin prototype (before a final coat of paint) commissioned by the Municipality of Moròn from Cooperativa Nueva Mente. 50 bins to be used around the new Reserva Natural de Municipio de Moròn. A formidable achievement indeed.
During the past month, Nueva Mente cooperative members ventured out of Morón and took their wares to two fairs or ferias: the Feria Puro Diseño and the Feria del Cooperativismo. This was a first attempt at selling the products (mostly wallets) they had manufactured...
So with the ordering of Hotpress #5 here in Buenos Aires and the departure of two-thirds of the core team of Waste for Life, a natural ending and celebration point has been reached. We are thrilled with the progress we have made so far. But we don’t have long to...
Back in Buenos Aires, and it’s summer time so everything moves at half-speed. The heat has eased up over the last few days and that has made it more comfortable to move around. Still, whatever the weather, the cartoneros are present, winding their way through...
