July 18: From Trash to Eco-Treasure

Former Peace Corps volunteer Laura Kutner made treasure out of trash at the school where she worked in Guatemala.

While enjoying a bottle of soda one day, she noticed that the bottle had the same width as the walls of a classroom that was under construction.  In order to create eco-friendly insulation for the walls, Kutner led parents, students and volunteers in the effort to fill 8,000 bottles with inorganic trash, wrap the bottles in chicken wire, then put them in the walls which would be coated with cement.  When money to complete the project ran out, a San Diego nonprofit called Hug It Forward supplied the needed funds.

Now, Kutner’s ingenious “eco-blocks” are providing warm insulation for walls in the new classrooms.  She is training other volunteers on the technique because interest in duplicating it has spread.  For such efforts to work, local people must be involved—and willing to work for positive change.  “If a community does not want or does not need it, the project is not going to be successful,” says Kutner.

May we be inspired to assist the growth of our own communities.

Live in harmony with one another.  (Romans 12:16)

Strengthen the bonds of hardworking communities, Jesus.