Here's the scoop: Carolina Leon Castro is a Costa Rican who studied pharmacy, and makes upcycled accessories from plastic bottles. How does she do it? After retrieving an old plastic bottle (the bumpy bottom kind), she cuts off the base, forms "petals" in the plastic and then melts it into shape with a candle. Then she paints it, glues on the details/hardware and voilà! Something pretty - from trash, no less.
She sold some of these "upcycled" jewelry treasures that she made in order to go on a medical mission trip to Haiti with some other Latino doctors and my friend, Brendan, in August 2010. She's featured them in some art shows, was interviewed on a local television show and helped teach a little workshop to some kids in the barrio where Brendan lives. Here are a couple of photos from a workshop.
Brendan also told me that Costa Rica, incidentally, has a "culture" of "upcycling"/recycling stuff you throw away to do neat little crafts and home-made solutions. It's a very common practice, and kids learn to do it early on in school. It's about being resourcefulness and caring for their environment, because they're very proud of their country's natural beauty. To not be environmentally conscious in Costa Rica would be equivalent to being careless and wasteful with your money in the States.
story and photos courtesy of Brendan Blowers (San José, Costa Rica) and Carolina's facebook page
