New Delhi: ‘We all need to do our bit for the environment, it is our duty,’ with this as her mantra, 49-year-old artist Bindu Joy from Kerala started upcycling old products from her house into new home décor items. Today, her work has earned her praise and made her a known name in Kerala. From an old frying pan to bottles, kettles, lanterns, milk cans, antique pieces of furniture, coat hangers, Bindu is giving trash items an unique makeover and is successfully selling products made out of waste.
Talking to NDTV, about how she got started on this her journey, Bindu said,
Bindu Joy is an Upcycling artist from Kerala who transforms waste products into new home décor items
I live near the backwaters, I have seen it lose its charm over the years. It has turned into a dump yard. Everyone’s waste from their backyards is going there. I wanted to do something about it and as a first step, I thought of reducing my own carbon footprint.
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Bindu decided she will turn trash into items of daily utility or home décor products. Back then, she started learning the process of upcycling, she first made an attempt to learn the technique through video tutorials and failed, later, she learned the basics from an expert based in Jaipur.
It took Bindu, 9 months to completely master the art of upcycling. She adds,
Upcycling is basically giving your old products a new look. Since childhood, I was very attached to my own little things. I never used to like abandoning them. But life had something else planned for me, I got married at an early age and soon got busy in my daily monotony. A few years ago, I lost my husband and to overcome the sadness and loneliness, I decided to pursue my dream. It was then that I started looking for options that cater my interest.
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In 2017, Bindu finally started creating products, as a first step, she started using all the waste items from her own home. A year later, Bindu started her own Facebook page in the name of Ebony ‘n’ Ivory and started selling her products to people in Kerala, starting at Rs 450 and going up to Rs 5,000. So while waste bottles cost Rs 450, antique chairs and tables cost Rs 5,000.
Apart from selling products, Bindu also gives upcycling services to people, wherein they can get any old items and ask Bindu to upcycle these into a creative product as per their choice.
Along with creating beautiful products, Bindu, has now also started taking workshops in Kerala to teach people the art of managing their own waste through the process of upcycling.
It is very satisfying to see discarded items being turned into creative products – one that you can use again. Upcycling should be the way forward, I urge people to do their bit and help reduce the waste load from India, signs off waste warrior Bindu.
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In Pictures: Bindu’s Waste To Treasure Work
