Landfill Harmonic: A Documentary

“The world sends us garbage. We send back music.” – Favio Chavez, Orchestra Director ¹

Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming documentary about “The Recycled Orchestra,” a group of children from a Paraguayan slum who play instruments made entirely from garbage.

Cateura, Paraguay is known as one of the poorest slums in Lain America, a village built on top of a massive landfill where many residents subsist by scavenging through trash for sellable goods. Drugs, alcohol and gang violence are rampant and prospects for most children are grim.

A local garbage picker named Nicolás Gómez used his ingenuity to craft instruments out of recycled materials. With the guidance of local musician Favio Chávez, a youth orchestra was born, one which has managed to bring hope to children whose future might otherwise be spiritless:

“People realize that we shouldn’t throw away trash carelessly. Well, we shouldn’t throw people away either.” – Favio Chavez

Landfill Harmonic is a testament to how creative and simple solutions can bring powerful social transformation to the poorest communities.

The film is only the first part of a multi-phase project with the goal of improving the lives of children in impoverished areas around the world and spreading awareness on issues of education, recycling and poverty. You can learn more about it at the Landfill Harmonic Kickstarter page and keep up with the team’s efforts on Facebook.

¹ Source: Landfill Harmonic Kickstarter

Via This is Colossal