THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF KENYA
The Mother Workshop
Housed at the Design and Fabrication Lab of the international school of Kenya Plastiki Rafiki – a student led club – runs a plastic recycling workshop which also serves as the hub for training network members and machine building. All the machines and molds are designed and fabricated in the workshop. We currently have one plastic shredder, couple of injection and compression molding machines and three different types of plastic extruders. In addition we have some experimental machines we are testing for off-grid recycling. The workshop is managed on an add-hoc basis by Plastiki Rafki club members, lab technicians, ISK faculty as well as visiting artists and designers.
A Focus on Student Learning
Being housed at the school, the workshop serves as space for students of all age groups to learn about plastics, the plastic recycling process and get practical experience designing products. In addition Plastiki Rafiki engages the school community to collect plastic and bring it to the workshop for processing. Since 2018 we have organized student led rubbish collection drives around Kenya including Diani Beach, the Maasai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Baringo, and Mt. Kenya. The discarded plastic we collect is then processed into bespoke products.
Shifting from Production to Product Innovation
Since 2018 we have been designing and manufacturing unique products in our workshop. Whether it is jewelry, flower pots, furniture, children toys or one of our household items – all Plastiki Rafiki products are carefully designed by ISK students and the molds are freely available to network members. As we continue to build and sell new machines and provide training to organizations, we hope to shift our focus from production to product innovation – expanding grassroots plastic recycling in Kenya and create local employment.
