Recycling in Sri Lanka

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1 1 Elephant-dung paper beads strung on two cords. Barrel-shaped beads are made with layers of two colours of paper, rolled, dried and then shaved away at the ends with a sharp knife. This exposes the colours in a soft zigzag-style pattern. 94 Marg Vol. 64 No. 3

2 ANCILLARIES Keith Andrew Recycling in Sri Lanka Producing craft items from recycled and waste materials is a practice throughout the world. A great variety of products are designed and produced handbags from aluminium cans, bottle-cap necklaces, bowls and furniture of papier mache, lamps from plastic dishwashing liquid bottles the list is long and imaginative. Jewellery and fashion accessories are one small part of this recycling effort by craft producers who make an ethical choice in using low-cost waste products to create beautiful and marketable items. The first record of jewellery from recycled materials is a 1920 black-and-white photograph of a South Pacific native wearing a necklace made from expired glass flashbulbs discarded by American troops a result of the Cargo Cult of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which is still in evidence on some Pacific islands today. Recycling in Sri Lanka probably started around the same period. The current recycling and production of fashion accessories in Sri Lanka has been a sometimes difficult yet successful journey. Emerging from thirty years of civil war and the resulting economic and physical hardship, for the people of north and eastern Sri Lanka recycling has been a necessity, not a choice. Building materials in the war-torn north were used and reused, as homes were built and destroyed, built and destroyed. Clothing in the northern provinces was the same reused, reworked, resewn. Possibly this unfortunate journey instilled a sense of creativity and ingenuity within the women of these communities, making them receptive to programmes of personal and economic empowerment through workshops for the production of fashion adornment from recycled materials. Sri Lanka has, from the days of Serendip and Ceylon, been known for the abundance and quality of its wondrous gemstones. Now an expanding industry, more value is added to the gems by way of new cutting, innovative setting design and aggressive marketing. However the gem-studded opulence is costly and does not suit the lifestyle, budget or mindset of many modern women. Recycled adornment is an ethical choice, and design, material and especially provenance can be important factors when consumers are making such choices for personal adornment. March

3 Keith Andrew Recycling in Sri Lanka Paper Beads Recycled bead-making is the basis of producing adornments from many different waste materials. Mastering the simple craft of bead-rolling opens a world of creativity. Newspaper, magazine paper, used office paper, old maps and documents all give different feels and textures to the beads. Beads may be rolled in many shapes and sizes all determined by the pattern you work from. Cut and roll a straight piece of paper, and a common straight-sided bead will result. Cut the paper in an isosceles triangle and roll from the widest end, and barrel shaped beads will be created. The possibilities and opportunity for experimentation and creativity are endless; there are no rules to break. Colour may be defined by the magazine paper you choose for making the paper beads. Fully dried newspaper beads may be dipped in fabric dyes whose vibrant colours are quickly absorbed before the beads are spread out to dry as fast as possible. Choosing handmade papers with their wonderful subtle colours gives a soft look to the beads. Recycled papermaking has a long tradition in Sri Lanka; however it is the Sri Lankan company Maximus that has taken paper made from elephant dung to the world. The spectacular colours and soft texture of the elephant-dung paper make it a wonderful choice for paper beads (figure 1). Environmental conciseness was an important factor in the production of the elephant dung paper from the time of its conception some fifteen years ago. Eco-friendly biodegradable dyes are still used and the making process is labour-intensive, employing a number of people from the surrounding rural areas. Different techniques can be used: Two colours of elephant-dung paper may be layered and rolled in a spiral to produce chunky beads in contrasting hues. The 2 Bangles made from elephant-dung paper with various forms of cut design. Strips of paper are wound and glued one above the other around a suitably sized glass jar. When fully dried the cutting is commenced to expose lower layers of bright colour. 96 Marg Vol. 64 No. 3

4 ANCILLARIES 3 Necklaces of simple beads made from cotton handloom textile waste from Barefoot s workshop. beads may be used for very attractive drop earrings. Or, two or more colours may be rolled into a common straight bead and when fully dry the edges sliced away at an angle to achieve a spectacular rock agate or marbled effect around the edge of the bead. These multicoloured beads may be used for necklaces and earrings. Layers of variously coloured elephant-dung paper are also used to craft attractive chunky bangles (figure 2). Soaking elephant-dung paper or newspaper in water reduces it to a pulp. Balls are formed from the pulp as the water is squeezed out of them. Then a hole is pierced through the centre before drying and a large spherical bead will result with an interesting rough texture. This is self-coloured if using elephant-dung paper pulp, or may be painted and decorated if newspaper pulp has been chosen. Strung together on a coloured ribbon, the beads are lightweight but have a wonderful exotic large-scale effect. Textile Beads and Tassels The craft of handloom textile weaving has an older tradition in Sri Lanka than that of papermaking. Barbara Sansoni, founder of Barefoot Gallery in Colombo, has been at the forefront of reviving and more importantly sustaining this handcraft in Sri Lanka. Barbara and now her son Dominic with his family work tirelessly to promote the handloom industry through their retail shops around the island and through exports. From inception the Barefoot handloom facility has always used environmentally friendly dyes and sensible water waste management. This handcraft facility is in a rural area and therefore electricity supply is intermittent. As production has grown, Barefoot has been able to invest in alternative power supply. More recently the production facility has introduced sophisticated forms of water recycling. Barefoot is always on the alert for new developments in environmentally conscious dyes, all whilst retaining and training the rural community in a traditional Sri Lankan craft. March

5 Keith Andrew Recycling in Sri Lanka 4 Various bangles covered in handmade and hand-dyed mulberry paper. Snack containers are cut into rings and used for the basic form of the wide bangles on the right. The round bangles on the left have a base of thin bamboo. As in any industry, there is waste. In the weaving craft there is cotton thread waste on the used shuttles, and often top and tail waste of fabric when lengths are cut from the loom. There is also woven textile waste from products like bags that Barefoot makes for its shops and export. This waste may be recycled into beads as well as into tassels for jewellery. The heavy cotton fabric makes large straight beads, about 4 cm long, that look modern and chunky and show off the vibrant colour combinations that are a signature trademark of Barefoot. These large long beads must be spaced with round wooden beads to give the necklace flexibility (figure 3), or the thread waste may be used and wound into round beads. Making miniature colourful tassels from the thread waste lends an exciting new textural component to use in recycled jewellery making a local ethnic tradition with a modern edge. Although well known for their cotton textiles, Barefoot s craftspeople also produce gossamer thin silk in the most jewel-like colours. The waste from this silk is cut on the bias and stitched to form a tube that is the basis for one of the fastest selling recycled jewellery items in Barefoot Gallery. Large paper-pulp round beads are threaded alternately inside and outside the silk tube. Small wooden beads may be used as spacers between the large beads. 98 Marg Vol. 64 No. 3

6 ANCILLARIES The component jewellery parts made from the waste of Barefoot and the paper of Maximus can combine in a melange of modern colour and texture to add fun and excitement to any fashion statement (figure 4). Coconut Shell and Fibre The coconut industry was the mainstay of colonial Ceylon, on which railways and roads were built, fortunes amassed and squandered. The coconut shell waste was traditionally used as cooking fuel. Today community projects such as CocoShel, with the aid of modern technology and design, produce beautiful hand-finished adornments from this agricultural waste. The CocoShel rural group produces not only earrings and pendants but also wonderful belt buckles from polished and unpolished coconut shell. Colour variation can be achieved, ranging from dark brown to light beige, depending on the variety and age of the coconut shell. The natural neutral colours of coconut shell may be varied when used in combinations with textile tassels and paper beads, or given sparkle by the addition of gold and silver leaf. Such combinations of materials create an exciting contemporary fashion energy. Using a different part of the coconut, prisoners in Sri Lanka s Central Prison have refined the craft of twisting the fibre into delicate miniature ropes, so fine that from a distance the chains they make resemble filigreed gold. These are often combined with cabochonshaped stones which have been fashioned from old toothbrush handles. Leather Craft The craft of leather-making is considered one of the oldest in the world. Leather military footwear and dress parade accessories have been in production in Sri Lanka since 1939 when the British opened a factory to supply the forces in Europe and India particularly with boots. Legend has it that the wives of the factory workers were able to fashion sari pins and brooches from the tiny scraps of discarded leather. One imagines the accessories to be rather dull, as black and brown were the predominant colours, so a scrap of white leather from the production of naval dress shoes must have been quite treasured. The factory is still in operation and now produces fashion bags and shoes in addition to military leather goods. The leather is now available in a rainbow of colours and textures, but the same traditional methods of skiving to thin the leather and tooling to shape and give a three-dimensional effect still apply. Flower and leaf shapes may be tooled to make brooches, pendants and earrings in tropical colours. Interesting results may be achieved by simply rolling triangular strips of soft leather into long spiral beads suitable for earrings. Modern Waste A developing country discards developed waste. Aluminium cans; plastic bottles, containers and bags; discarded electronic and computer items, mobile phones and credit cards the list, sadly, is endless and continuously being added to. However, these discarded objects offer a wealth of opportunity to the creative thinking craftperson working in recycled materials. March

7 Keith Andrew Recycling in Sri Lanka 5 This necklace is a combination of rolled and flat beads made from aluminium cans. Aluminium cans present several interesting possibilities. Cut each end off the can and open out the body into a flat piece. You can cut rectangular or triangular strips of this to make barrelled or cylindrical beads, depending on your choice. Pieces may also be cut in floral and abstract shapes to assemble brooches and earrings. The ring pulls from the cans may be linked together to make interesting metallic belts. The bottoms of the cans may be decorated and used to make oversized earrings and highly noticeable belts a positive fashion statement. The main consideration when assembling jewellery from aluminium is the construction, as aluminum is extremely difficult to glue. Branded super-glue is possibly the only successful bonding agent but difficult to use in very confined areas like beads. A system of linking wire rings or thread can be successful (figure 5). Plastic soft-drink bottles or containers may be cut into strips rolled and heated over a low flame to retain the bead shape. Colour may be added by painting the inner surface of the bead strip or even inserting a strip of coloured paper. Credit cards may be cut into fanciful shapes for earrings. Small computer and mobile phone components may be put together to make interesting and creative pins and pendants, hair slides and earrings. Again, there are no limitations and no rules (figures 6 and 7). 6 This necklace is made from found beach glass and copper. Glass can often be found in various colours at the high tide line on the beach; it acquires a smooth frosted look from being pounded by the waves and sand. 100 Marg Vol. 64 No. 3

8 ANCILLARIES 7 This necklace is produced from a number of waste materials small fuses, cardboard from a pizza box and discarded rubber. There is a small amount of jewellery work required, as the ends of the fuses are capped in silver. Creativity, Quality and Marketing The possibilities in creativity and innovation offered by recycled and waste products are limitless; however if targeting a commercial market, strong consideration must be given to the quality and neatness of the work: clean edges, no blobs of glue or unsightly connection of elements. There should be pride in the work; handmade should not be an excuse for bad craftsmanship. The Japanese customer can be the most demanding in terms of quality of hand-produced items Moju shops exemplify the quality expected by the Japanese consumer when buying eco-friendly or goods made from recycled materials. Knowing your market is an important factor in designing fashion accessories. In Sri Lanka currently the tourist market is increasing once again. Selling to this market is good preparation for small producers to become export ready. The exposure to European tourists helps crafts-people gauge the quality, colours, textures and shapes that will sell best in Europe. With the encouragement and marketing assistance given by Barefoot in Colombo, the work of small producers using recycled and waste products has been introduced most successfully to a discerning tourist market. These aware customers are pleased to be able to make an ethical choice not only in buying items made of the recycled materials used but also in providing positive and sustainable futures for the Sri Lankan families producing the items. The rapid sales have encouraged innovations in new designs, textures, colours and shapes to satisfy fashion trends. Possibly the spectacular bold colours of Maximus and Barefoot are symbolic of the new colourful future being offered to the emerging group of Sri Lankan crafts-people making the ethical choice to work in recycled materials. Figure Acknowledgements All photographs courtesy Nathan Ober. March