Green mountains on the cobblestone

Deer made from discarded tree branches

Bowls and chopsticks made of waste paper

Other crafts made of wastes

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- The handicrafts on the plank, plants on the sketchpad, cute people on the “Jade”... Recently, children from Banan Dajiang Primary School have brought us a visual feast of exquisite craftsmanship. Sources of these handicrafts come from discarded branches they tread on, useless chopping boards, common cobblestones and wastes.

We are doing “fun stuffs”

“We started it from the beginning of last year.” Lei Yifu, a student of grade six in this school, is a member of this “Trash to Treasure” group. In last June, the school set up a DIY workshop. Since then, the boy has decided to add his own ideas. In the summer vacation, Lei Yifu discovered that the old chopping board cracks slowly as the temperature changes and becomes useless in the end. The change aroused his inspiration.

At school, more than 20 children began to emerge all kinds of ideas under the guidance of teachers. Old chopping boards could be turned into scribbles, fallen branches on schoolyard could be changed into deer models and the left trees could be formed on the painting in another way.

Kids are masters of imagination

How do the ideas come? According to Tao Hong, a teacher leading the group, teachers can teach children different knowledge, but they should learn from children in the aspect of imagination. Since the establishment of this group, the six teachers majoring in painting and calligraphy just provide basic technical guidance for the children. The final products are derived from the students' observation and thinking. 

Tao Hong says, “in addition to the utilization and processing of waste wood products, the students also create interesting works with old cloth, waste paper and cobblestone by painting, calligraphy, combination and so on, which truly turning waste into treasure”. (Translated by Luo Juan, Fathom Language Limited)