Making Things

Click any image for larger view.


Click any image for larger view.




IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON AN ISLAND, COULD YOU MAKE A FIRE? Build adequate shelter? Could you make shoes to protect your feet from the hot sand or coral? There was a day in the United States and other western nations when “making” or “building” or “repairing” was an everyday activity. Making bread. Building a fence. Repairing the tire. To that point, who darns socks anymore? Don’t get me wrong—there are many innovative builders, craftsmen and “makers” in the U.S. today— it’s just that products today are not made to be repaired. They are built to be replaced.

This post is about “making.” It’s about some innovative Africans who are making shoes from the discarded rubber treads from automobile tires. Durable and flexible—these rubber treads make the perfect “reuse” of existing materials.

Watch for a future post on a new movement today to “repair” things, instead of buying new. Repairing things is the new “green.”

Images via Oddity Central.