ecoarti

My daughter Tamsin and I have just come back from a business bootcamp in Frankfurt - which is the last thing I ever though I'd be doing! We are now part of the Climate-KIC start up business programme, organised by Provadis. It was amazing to meet 120 people from 9 EU countires all sharing amazing ideas and inventions to positively impact the environment and help to combat climate change.  
From green rooves to pesticide sensors to street vending machines that extract drinking water from humidity.... so many incredible ways to clean up our world and safeguard it for future generations..... I can only wish them all well. So much brilliant potential! And Provadis is giving us all the advice and support needed to make those dreams happen.

Our idea is not a product at all though - we feel that we need to help address the very basic lack of awareness that is still evident around us. Our dream is 'ecoarti' - inspiring eco-responsibility through artistic ventures; workshops and events to underline the message that seems to have been around for ages but doesn't seem to be working. Our polluted air and plastic filled seas bear witness to the failure of the 3 R's;
1. Refuse unnecessary packaging and single-use plastic
2. Reuse it for as long as possible.
3. was Recycle, but it's pretty obvious that globally we are not coping with the sheer amount of waste we are producing. As ecoarti we will create installations from rubbish and waste materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. Our third R would be aRt - make rubbish into something memorable and perhaps even useful. I don't suppose we'll ever make a fortune by doing this, but there are many ways to feel rich! 

​Our next project is "Bahar taz-Zibel" ("Sea of Rubbish"), working with 70 teens to create a mural 8ft x 52ft to make them more aware of the impact plastic and other debris has on sealife. If only a few of them go home afterwards and take the message with them it will be worth it.

We want to show that rubbish can actually be a resource when used with imagination and creativity. Instead of letting it depress us, let's reuse it to make Art.