• Interviews with Ute Hubler and Sonja Nitschmann

Arts and Recycling Workshop of the Boracea Workshop Project

By Adriana Yazbek

Boracea is a shelter for the homeless run by the City Government of São Paulo. The project in question was initially conceived of as a way to improve its facilities, making it more comfortable.

With this humanitarian need as a basis, the idea emerged that Boracea could be used to show that all those things commonly seen as “trash” could also become seen as “raw material” – and therefore a starting point towards new creation. Recycling has therefore played an essential role in this process as most of the homeless already work as collectors of recyclable material. Newspaper, being cheap and readily available, was the chosen material and the process began with the creation of panels that could serve as partition walls, creating the possibility of some privacy and the feeling of refuge inside the shelter.

The result was quite aesthetically inspiring and the project took on a new direction: the creation of decorative products and utensils that could serve as a source of income for the homeless.

Creative work therefore began to add value to a material once sold exclusively as bulk matter for recycling. In addition, this new form of treatment also attracted discussions on environmental awareness issues, equally relevant to all segments of society – but especially for those living on the streets: collectors of recyclable material, commonly considered indigent, contribute directly to this process and, perhaps, did not hitherto realize their own importance.

The project is aimed at restoring their dignity and autonomy, achieved through financial independence, by creatively recycling materials. Therefore, it carries two very specific approaches: an environment aimed at broadening the ecological awareness of this segment of the population, while establishing a creative destiny for refuse material; and the rescue of their self-esteem and dignity through income generation.

Currently, the Workshop is managed by Adriana Yazbek, who conceived the project, and is also its coordinator and chief-designer. She was hired by the Secretariat of Social Development and Assistance of the City Government of São Paulo and seven persons from the shelter – five of whom no longer live there, having acquired enough financial independence through the project to live on their own.

The project has already had an impact in newspapers, magazines and TV. The products are sold in shops throughout Brazil. Due to the great quality of the products, the group was invited to participate, free-of-charge, in the “Craft Design” tradeshow, an event dedicated to shop owners, with the participation of designers from across the country. Our goal is now to expand our presence in the consumer market and to develop export channels for our products, in order to achieve more viable financial sustenance for the ex-homeless shelter inhabitants – currently 8 people – while enabling the increase of the number of participants.