Primary School Students Make Impressive Projects out of Cartons

Karachi : A book shelf, an ice cream stall and a lamp are some of the projects made by primary school students using cardboard sheets for an on-going recycling competition organized by Dawlance.

The competition, whereby children are tasked with creating utility items out of appliance cartons, is part of a larger campaign by Dawlance, which is aimed at promoting recycling amongst its stakeholders. The home appliance brand’s new series of locally assembled products are wrapped in packaging that features step-by-step instructions on how the appliance carton can be easily recycled to make various objects including pencil holders and laundry baskets.

The company has engaged six primary education institutes for the contest, with students of grades 3-5 from The City School, Mama Parsi Pathways British School, Falcon House Grammar School, The City Scholars and The Smart School participating in the campaign.

Hasan Azim, Vice President, Communications, at Dawlance, said, “The preservation of our environment is one of the most important issues that we need to address in current times. Hence, it is imperative that we teach our children about living in a sustainable manner from an early age. Recycling in addition to reducing and reusing are effective ways of minimizing our impact on the environment, and our message is that everyone can play an effective role in making a positive contribution, including children.”

The students, ranging in ages 6 to 9, have thus far impressed the contest judges with their creativity and dedication to the assignments. Some of the more remarkable projects include a neatly carved floor lamp, a storage space in the form of a truck (complete with traditional truck art) and a decorative miniature Ferris wheel with its seats serving as jewelry containers.

The three winners to emerge from the competition will have their names and those of their schools displayed on new Dawlance cartons. The cartons will also have a step-by-step guide on how to re-produce each of those winning projects.

The contest is being organized with the aid of Kaghaz Kay Karnamay, a company that specializes in creating handmade goods off recycled material including paper and organic fibers such as sugarcane, corn peels, onion skins and garlic peels. Kaghaz Kay Karnamay has been part of the Dawlance Recycling Team that has been providing tutorials to the students and has been evaluating their projects.