by Asmi Kothari
Mr. Harshil Vora was keen on contributing to society after the Landmark Self-Expression and Leadership Program. He at first intended to create a small workshop series for about 2-3 days in various schools regarding upcycling (recycling in a way that creates higher quality products) waste. But as the course came to an end, he needed a challenge for a better experience and a bigger output. Harshil’s friends and family supported him throughout the two months of arrangements. He had a core team of 30 people and a supporting team of 100 volunteers for a huge competition. This competition was called “Kabaad Ka Jugaad” and was held in Mumbai, India. Around 50 schools and colleges participated in this competition and they received a great response from a large audience.
Harshil’s team used this as a motivation and came up with an Upcycling Festival held for three long days. The festival helped to create awareness and linked various interests to upcycling. There were various projects in different themes, such as arcade games, design and architecture, art, junk instruments, and fashion. They also included a debate competition, NGO talk sessions, and a live corner wherein people would try to create something new from trash.
“Kabaad Ka Jugaad” was a great success and now they wish to take this forward to other cities. Harshil says that he is passionate and creative by nature, and is of an opinion that if innovation meets upcycling the result will be extremely attractive and fun. The Landmark courses helped him gain the leadership and organisational skills which came in handy all this time. He also overcame his trust issues and mentions that he learnt ‘how to be able to enroll and work with anybody and everybody.’ Now he fearlessly commits as well as works towards it. He, along with his team further intends to create an online platform in order to produce and sell upcycled products in collaboration with the government. They also will be conducting Upcycling workshops in various schools to create awareness amongst the younger generation. Lastly, they want to continue conducting these Competitions and Festivals every year!
For further enquiries or collaborations, visit www.proinnovate.co (redefining waste).