The Artisan and Ecological Market of Gijón is going to present a collaborative project at the European Week for Waste Reduction -EWWR 2018-, an initiative run in Asturias by Cogersa and cofinanced by the program LIFE + of the European Commission . Its objective is to promote and implement actions to educate our society about sustainable resources and residual management for a week. This event will take place from the 17th to the 25th of November.
PROJECT: ‘THE TREE OF LIFE’
The project designed by our Market is called “The Tree of Life” and is inspired in the eastern legend of the red thread: “Japanese people believe that people that are meant to meet each other are joined by a red thread tied to their little finger. It is invisible and it remains tied to these people through time, place, circumstances… The thread can tangle or tense, but it never breaks”.
A red thread will therefore be the driving force of the project. We will create a network of people and ideas to raise awareness about the need to reduce waste and contribute to making this world a better one.
“The Tree of Life” will benefit from individual contributions and small gestures from every participant until we can “build” the tree.
Our goal is to create a big network which will start here in Asturias and continue to grow and develop from March to November to “give life and energy” to this great tree which symbolizes our planet Earth.
DEVELOPMENT:
1.- The Artisan and Ecological Market will manage the organisation, development and presentation of the project. To begin with, we will need collaboration from any individual or public/ private entity that wishes to be involved and help make this project possible.
Those who wish to cooperate will place a red thread as a clothes line wherever they feel it is appropriate. From this line they will hang white pieces of paper, which will be previously handed to the participants. They will convey their own ideas (drawings, sentences, verses, slogans… anything related to the waste management).
Once the activity is completed, the volunteer will take a picture of the line and send it to our association´s website. They will also mail the white pieces of paper to the organisation.
2.- The first line will be placed in Plaza Mayor of Gijón during the market which is held at Easter (from Thursday the 29th to the 1st of April). The project will run until the 1st November.
3.- A few days before the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), the tree will be placed and dressed with all the white pieces of paper in a chosen location. The tree is to be made from cardboard or wood, most preferably with recycled material. Its roots will be visible and red, in the same colour as the thread from which the white sheets, which symbolise the leaves, hang.
Moreover, a poster will be made to show all the photographs of red threads received, with their origins specified. We will also point out all those places in a world map.
During the week of the event, visitors will be able to keep participating and offering ideas in new sheets which will be added to “The Tree of Life”.
PARTICIPANTS:
Organisations, public and private entities, families, donations, etc.
MATERIALS:
Red thread, white sheets (0.05 x 0.30 metres)
