Facilitator: Antony Karori
Louis came up with an idea to tackle the problem wasted plastic bags cause in the environment, suggesting a rope machine to transform used bags into different types of rope suitable for multiple purposes.
With a construction manual Louis sent, I found a carpenter to build the rope machine as the school lacked the appropriate tools to build it there. We were all very curious to find out how the machine worked and what quality of rope it would produce. We tried it several times, but the ropes we produced were not very good. I took it to the school and made a few trials with the kids but still the final product wasn’t pleasing.
When the Berlin students came, I asked Louis to send me a separator (a tool used to separate the plastic strings, so they don’t get attached to each other). Even with the separator we were not getting the results we hoped for. After further investigation we figured out that our mistake was the direction of spinning the rope on each side and finally achieved the perfect results we had been looking for.
We taught the kids how to make rope and in no time they were producing and teaching others how to operate the machines. I was even surprised when we went back to Love School the next day to find the kids having already started making lots of ropes with the two machines we had. It was really nice to see how the wasted plastic bags turned into useful ropes. To increase the fun we went to the city and bought different colors of plastic bags which turned out in various versions of colorful ropes.
The construction of the machines made the spinning wires break quite frequently so we invested in making a new, more robust machine running with gear wheels. It turned out to be effective and easy to use, therefore the production speed of the ropes increased. We were even able to make two ropes at once! Out of the ropes that the kids produced we made a volley ball net, a basket ball hoop, fixed the sun shelter, weaved baskets and made a lot more beautiful things with everyone involved.
A short interview with the kids proved how the whole process and the machine had motivated and inspired them in ways to look at our environment differently and see the waste around us as useful resources that can even generate an income.