3.3

From Trash to Treasure: Circular Practices and Upcycling in Asia

In this step, we’ll meet three community activists and entrepreneurs working on upcycling: one in fashion in Indonesia, one addressing hunger and food waste in the Philippines, and one of the creators of this course, Sonali Phadke from Pune, India, who focuses on upcycling to create textile bags, furniture, container spaces, and much more.

By highlighting examples of upcycling and practical circularity work, we hope to provide inspirational starting points for you and others. Many, if not all, of the challenges we face today are globally interconnected, with local communities and contexts providing the connections to people and places needed for making positive changes.

Ana Patricia ‘Patreng’ Non started the People’s Pantries during the COVID-19 pandemic by placing a bamboo cart of basic supplies with the motto: “Give what you can, take what you need”. This initiative inspired thousands of similar community pantries across the Philippines, embodying the spirit of mutual aid (bayanihan).

Intan Anggita Pratiwie, co-founder of Setali Indonesia, promotes sustainable fashion and slow living. She empowers the public to reduce fashion waste by facilitating donations for reselling, recycling, and creating textile art, operating a closed-loop system.

Sonali Phadke is a Partner at Studio Alternatives, where she uses her engineering and ecological background to integrate sustainability into the firm’s work of creative reuse and design. Her interest in reusing waste stems from her family’s composites and plastics business, and she is one of the main course creators of this online course.

Watch the DW Nature and Environment story here or click above.

Further reading, learning and references

DW Nature and Environment India – From trash to treasure: How to consume less and recycle more https://www.dw.com/en/from-trash-to-treasure-how-to-consume-less-and-recycle-more/video-72511049

Layugan, I. (2024). Patreng of the People’s Pantries. Positively Filipino https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/patreng-of-the-peoples-pantries

Intan Anggita Pratiwie https://www.intananggitapratiwie.com/

studio Alternatives – About us https://www.studioalternatives.com/about

© Daniel Mossberg, CEMUS, Uppsala University and Sonali Phadke, studio Alternatives and Stephanie Foote