Posts Tagged ‘Rolando Politi’

Roses of Seemapuri

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

I have been meaning to share for a more than a week now the latest update from Rolando Politi, New York legend and founder of the trash worship movement. Rolando has long supported an all-woman waste picker’s collective in India and shares, along with these lovely photos, the news that you, too, may support their work by purchasing a flower made from salvaged materials.

Women making flowers

Women making flowers

From Rolando:

The co-op in seemapuri is known as “kabad se jugad” (waste improvs) . Right now  initial start up funds have all been spent for tools, supplies and rent. KSJ has decided to continue on the risky road of being all independent and self sustaining by the export sales of their unique flowers and mobiles!  The price for one flower is $30 (includes export shipping) but if you order multiples, the cost is only $25 each. To order please send mail to recycleandpray@gmail.comSpecify the quantities and your shipping instructions.
Bindi bulbs

Bindi bulbs

You need not pay until you receive the parcel in good order!  They make a great surprise gift for your loved ones. We ship anywhere in the world and a card from sender can be included! The number of women involved is directly proportional to the number of orders received and just one order for three flowers is enough for one women salary for one month!

All Women Waste Workers

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Feeling philanthropic? Rolando Politi, founder of the Yanbuki trash worshipers, has launched a fundraising campaign to support a project with women rag pickers in Delhi, India. The idea: teach the members of the women’s waste workers cooperative to make and sell trash art.

Trash flowers

The campaign states two aims, to generate income for the women and to destigmatize their work by creating something positive from the materials they collect.

For more on waste, recycling and the informal industry of rag picking in Delhi, check out the documentary Delhi Waste Wars.

Kappo in Copenhagen

Monday, August 9, 2010

Rolando Politi, spiritual leader of the Yanbuki trash worshippers, recently organized a trip to the utopian neithborhood of Christiania, Copenhagen.

Kappo and Lady Kappo

An email summary of events states:

to all world yanbukis, here are the links for the kappo tour and ceremony from this july.

Findings: they never thought about collecting and cleaning and repackaging caps and lids before KAPPO was introduced.

Future:  great potential for a bottom up start up of cap enterprise anywhere in the world!

hungry people and redeemers and also creatives should contact [recycleandpray AT gmail DOT com] for more details and know how.

The Trash Worship Network

expanding trash spirituality for ten years and going

The message includes links to these photos and this YouTube video of a cap gobbling ceremony. From the photos of packaged bottle caps and cap-ardorned Yanbukis as well as a poster promoting Kappo in New York and Copenhagen, I am guessing/deducing that the Yanbukis have embarked on a world tour with at least one stop (Copenhagen) where they share the benefits of plastic bottle cap harvesting with locals in the name of art and trash worship. Part of this endeavor requires building a cap-gobbling receptacle by decorating a trash can in bottle caps and dropping more caps inside.

Fresh caps

The proper attire at such a ceremony appears to require decorative capping. And the leader of such a ceremony is known as  Kappo, or Lady Kappo depending on one’s gender. Yanbukis and anthropologists in the know are encouraged to correct this post should I be misinterpreting anything. Regardless, the result looks like a lot of fun and, hopefully, results in greater awareness of plastic waste (without ever uttering such a painfully dull phrase as “greater awareness of plastic waste”).


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