Children in Paraguay Orchestra Play Recycled Instruments

Landfill Harmonic- The world sends us garbage... We send back music. from Landfill Harmonic on Vimeo.

Though there are plenty of examples of people making art from recycled objects, making music through recycling is a new one. But that's exactly what's happening in Cateura, Paraguay, where residents live on top of a landfill and make their money by sorting through the trash to find items to sell or refurbish.

Favio Chavez is a music teacher, and quickly found himself with more students than instruments. He teamed up with garbage picker Nicolás "Cola” Gómez to create instruments out of the trash in the landfill. The two turned oil drums into cellos, pipes into flutes, and packing crates into guitars. With the help of the Cateura community, who stepped in to help, children in the slum now play in "La Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Cateura" on their recycled instruments.

This incredible story hasn't gone unnoticed. The messages of recycling and education are important once, and caught the eye of Alejandra Amarilla Nash and Juliana Penaranda-Loftus, their story is being turned into both a full length documentary and a social movement.

If you'd like to get involved, the project is live on Kickstarter. The goal is to fund the rest of the filming, and hopefully to send the Recycled Orchestra on a tour around the world to share their music and inspiration. Additionally, the campaign needs instruments. A donation bank has been set up in Phoenix, and will send instruments to children around the world. The program hopes to institute similar programs in other impoverished areas, such as Haiti or Kenya, to encourage recycling and the wonder that music can bring.

If you'd like to make a difference on Kickstarter, click here to donate.