There’s More to Nespresso Coffee Capsules Than You Think!

After enjoying a delicious cup of coffee how many of us do actually think of recycling the empty Nespresso capsules as pieces of fashion, home decor or stationery? This quirky idea struck Dalia Ghorab, who always had a hard time throwing away the beautiful empty capsules, and hence she decided to give them a new lease of life as bookmarks, jewellery and even home decor accessories.

We at Jeddah Blog fell in love with Dalia’s creativity and couldn’t wait to bring her work to our readers. Jeddah Blog writer Samreen Ahmed promptly got in touch with Dalia to find out more.

Earrings made from recycled Nespresso cups.

Dalia introduces herself as an architect who worked in Egypt but quit her job to move to Jeddah with her family eight years ago. She always loved arts and started making handmade accessories in 2012 before she began recycling Nespresso capsules. “I am kind of a hoarder,” says Dalia. “I started saving the capsules not sure of what I’d do with them. Then I started googling and found out that they were collected and recycled worldwide but not in Saudi Arabia.” Dalia contacted the Nespresso team in Jeddah who also confirmed that they do not recycle the capsules, so Dalia came up with her own plan of action and began designing recycled products made from Nespresso empty capsules.

All the accessories she makes are hand-made and it is difficult to imagine that they were once nothing but empty capsules. There is a variety of things you can find in Dalia’s collection but the goth ballerina pendant deserves a special mention.

Goth Ballerina Pendant with Black Turquoise Stone.

As a passionate art lover and a mother she wanted her children Adam, 14 and Laila, 12 to do something worthwhile and thus encouraged them to join her in this mini project which is also an initiative to save the environment since the capsules are made of aluminium. It is amazing to see how creatively Dalia has transformed plain aluminium pods into rings, earrings, pendants and trinkets and she suggests that the capsules can be used in various art projects in schools to reinforce the importance of recycling in children. Even Dalia’s 4 year old and 2 year old toddler play with the clean emptied cups learning colour recognition, sequencing and counting. It seems the possibilities are endless.

Dancing Princess Pendant with Pink Garnet.

Schools in general must take up more such art projects that help in bringing out the creativity in children while creating a civic sense in them from a young age. Nespresso capsules particularly make up a huge amount of waste every month and it is high time this waste is put to good use. For the purpose of promoting this idea Dalia, Adam and Laila hosted a stall at the spring fair in British International School of Jeddah.

Spanish Torero Pendant with genuine pearls.

Dalia believes that not only children, but grown ups too must get involved in collecting and recycling Nespresso capsules and find new ways to reuse them. Dalia’s ideas and collection are becoming popular with Jeddawis and she tells us that within just a week her Facebook page attracted a lot of fans and followers. The innovative team is doing their bit, but they are looking for more support and promotion of their idea to make the concept of recycling Nespresso capsules popular in the country. “It would be lovely if someone can help in holding exhibitions, contests or anything of that sort to promote the idea. We are trying to raise awareness to save the environment with a creative and artistic approach”, voices Dalia.

So if you are a coffee lover and are a part of the huge crowd who throws away coffee capsules, take a peek at Dalia’s work and join hands in saving up the capsules and crafting out beautiful masterpieces which otherwise would harm the environment when discarded in bulk.

Check our the Nespresso Capsules Recycling KSA Facebook Page for more Nespresso creations, set up and moderated by Dalia’s son Adam Abouzeid and their Instagram account moderated by her daughter Laila Abouzeid.

Samreen Ahmed runs a blog called Love.Hope.Dream. Click through to discover her musings.

 

 

Trochet: Turning Trash into Crafty Crochet

Jeddah is teeming with an incredible amount of creative talent, and it is always interesting to see that creativity turn into a larger community building effort. Earlier this month Anousha Vakani met with two very inspiring ladies, Diana Rayyan and Ishrat Khawja, who make up part of Jeddah’s creative brigade that has used art as a path to a better Jeddah.

Trash + Crochet = Trochet

Two years ago Diana Rayyan, the brains behind this initiative in Jeddah, was inspired by an awareness lecture that focused on the ill-effects of plastic on the environment. Initially, she did her bit by spreading the word on what she knew about plastics and the environment but was convinced that more could and should be done.

A Trochet work in progress.

After researching all possibilities she decided to launch a project that recycled plastic bags through crochet. She took it one step further and turned it into a charity initiative. The idea is to teach needy women how to crochet, to introduce them to the idea of recycling plastic and other materials through this art and to encourage them to earn an income in this way.

Diana explains that in the beginning people were (and some still are) sceptical that a product that is spun from what is essentially trash could be successful, many of them insisting that “trash is trash.” If anything, such an attitude only heightens the need for awareness and environmental projects in this society.

Ladies hard at work, but having a blast at the two-day pilot workshop.

The Trochet (trash + crochet) project was launched through the organization Ateeq which operates under the slogan of ‘mind to hand’. I found this slogan more than appropriate as Diana explained how Ishrat, “the creative guru”, eagerly agreed to translate Diana’s vision to substance through her crochet skills.

Ishrat Khawja is a blogger and crochet designer under her own brand Fruitful Fusion. She has been blogging about the challenges that come with crocheting with strips of plastic, and describes the pilot workshop that took place at the Rawaj Center, a part of Majid Society.The pilot workshop was a success in many ways, but as Ishrat explains, the community building aspect stood out most as “women from different backgrounds are brought together by a common language – the language being crochet terms”.

Diana agrees that the social aspect of this project is the most “spiritual”. She adds that “people have to remember that it’s not always about the end result, it is about the process.” It amazed her that pilot workshop was more of a “dialogue than a monologue” with the women enthusiastically throwing in their own thoughts and ideas.

Awareness ribbons made entirely out of recycled material; plastic bags and metal clothes hangers.

What amazed me most, however, was the amount of productivity that can be rolled into one project. Not only is this an incredible integration of art and the environment but its impact on society is far-reaching, with an increase in earning opportunities for needy women and an increased awareness of very pressing environmental issues.

The Trochet project is currently in need of volunteers to help and support the needy women, to teach crochet and to come up with suitable Trochet designs. Volunteers are also invited to come in and help with whatever they can, including the preparation of Trochet materials and packaging, because as they put it,“there is always something to do!”

An order for awareness ribbons, packed and ready to be delivered.

If you’re interested in volunteering or would like more details, email Diana or Ishrat at trochet@ateeq.me or fruitfulfusion@hotmail.co.uk, follow them on twitter at Ateeq and Fruitful Fusion and on Facebook at Ateeq and Fruitful Fusion.