Garbage disposal and recycling are two of the most pressing issues on Nicaragua’s environmental health agenda: the capital Managua alone produces 1,800 tons of waste every day. A lack of habits, culture and laws surrounding waste disposal and recycling often means that you can see streets and highways lined with plastic litter all throughout the country. All of this stands in a depressing contrast to the country’s innate wealth in natural beauty.

The students transformed used plastic bottles into art work.

This problem has not passed Fabretto’s staff unnoticed. Inspired by the International Day of the Environment earlier this month, the San Isidrio Center staged its own celebration of the Earth on June 27^th. In preparation of the event the students learned about the impact waste has on the environment and developed creative ways to re-use different materials.

On the day of the festival students of all ages recited poems and performed traditional and modern dances to honor “Mother Earth” during a festive ceremony. And yet, the highlight of the day was the fashion show without a doubt: students from all grades presented dresses entirely made out of used materials, ranging from old fabric to newspapers and plastic bags. Each class also prepared a display of art projects made using recycled plastic.

This fashion show might outshine Project Runway: not only were the dresses made entirely out of recycled materials, they featured creative designs and seemed well-fitted.

“With today’s event we wanted to educate our students about how long it takes certain materials to decompose completely. It was also important for us to show them how trash can be re-used in different ways. Hopefully this raises their environmental awareness and encourages them to start recycling at home”, Marlon, one of the SAT tutors, explained.

Marlon presents an upcycled chain of flowers that his first year SAT students made out of used plastic bottles.