A young design graduate from Bangalore, Rhea Gupta has come up with a ground breaking concept which uses empty cement bags and makes them useful for the construction site workers.
As part of her design degree, Rhea was tasked to work on an upcycling project. Rhea chose construction sites as focus of her study. During her interviews with migrant construction workers she could gather a sense of unsettled itineracy due to the nature of their work. Another striking feature to her of these sites were empty cement bags which are abundant at any construction site.
Her thought process drew inspiration from her grandfather, a Gandhinian freedom fighter and a look at his belongings – few personal items and a hold-all, a glimpse from bygone past.
She used this simple yet thought provoking association to develop cement bag hold-all, upcycled from the construction site waste and for the migrant labourers at such sites.
The seams, stitching thread and material for 3x6 ft. bedding were all sourced from cement bags that is mainly polypropylene threads and strings. When rolled out, the mattress is supported by polypropylene strings material as cushion. Waterproof, light and amenable to be carried along as a hold-all with straps, such ingenuity and keen sense of purpose demonstrated by Rhea has provided us with a truly relevant upcycled product. Rhea, now an industrial designer with Google, has also taken up on herself to distribute as many upcycled hold-alls as she can to the migrant labourers living on meagre resources.
Courtesy : Rhea Gupta/The Better India