How about a handbag using dried areca palm fronds or a teapoy using cycle rims or a basket that has a table fan cover as its bottom... what seemed to be odds and ends or throwaways found constructive application at the hands of young students on Day one of the first All Kerala Technical High School Science and Technology Festival at Government Technical High School, Sreekaryam, here on Tuesday.
Vishnu Suresh of Technical High School, Adimali, had coconut shells that he scraped smooth to create a container, with a lid and handle too. His neighbour Ealaf Ali of Technical High School, Shoranur, used rubber tyres to create a stool, wrapped it with cloth, and even made a cushion for it, all using waste products.
Elsewhere, one contestant created an abacus using plastic balls in which icecream is sold, and another twisted coconut fibre to make a rope. Someone used dried areca palm fronds to make slippers, while someone put old fridge trays to good use. Plastic bottles were cut, painted, glued...all in a bid to create something interesting and useful from what is seen as waste and thrown out without a second thought.
There were 24 students for the competition. They had reached the State-level contest after winning at the school level.
The contest for making products from waste material was just one of the five on-the-spot competitions lined up on the day. The others were carpentry, electronics, electrical wiring, and sheet metal work.
The festival is for students from Class 8 to 10 who are studying in technical high schools in the State.
In the carpentry competition, as the students sawed and chiselled and hammered, the judges came by to quiz them on their knowledge of various woods, joints, tools, their parts and their names. The students were free to make whatever they wanted, be it a bench or an easy chair. But that was not all. The judges also took note when modern equipment was used by the students. This, they said, showed their ability to use latest technology.
But the risks involved also came to the fore when a student Justin Joy of Technical HS, Sreekaryam, sustained injuries to his feet from a tool that was used. The student was given first aid and taken to a hospital where he required stitches.
Muneer R.S. of Technical HS, Nedumangad, bagged the first spot in carpentry; Ajin K. Roy of Technical HS, Adimali, in electrical; Anook A.K. of Technical HS, Kozhikode, in electronics; Akash J. Raj of Technical HS, Vadakara, in products using waste materials. P.M. Sainul Abideen of Technical HS Vannapuram in Idukki took the first position in sheet metal work. On Wednesday, competitions will be held in Still model and Working model, followed by exhibition.
