In a one-of-its-kind fund-raiser, Harrington Road Residents’ Residents Association (HRRA) recently organised a garage sale to fund the purchase of a van for collecting segregated waste.
A part of the funds will go towards the maintenance of Harrington Road. Besides food stalls, stalls put up by the HRRA to showcase upcycled products were a big draw.
Visitors were greeted by a massive upcycing initiative at the entrance of the venue — a 12-feet-tall installation depicting the theme of sustainability. It had been made with newspapers. There were also stainless steel installations, where the steel had been polished to have the effect of a mirror.
“This is what Harrington Road stands for,” says one of the HRRA members. And that’s why one can soon see these installations permanently on the pavements of the stretch.
Created by Vaishnavi Manohar and Sathya Raj, graduates of Chitrakala Parishath, the 12-feet-tall and 18-feet-wide tree installation was made with newspapers, hand-rolled and tucked into a welded metal structure. The tree, including its branches and leaves, were coated with resin to make it water- and weather-proof.
“Schools are a dominant feature of neighbourhood, and hence, the students-based installation,” explains Vaishnavi, who is also a former student of Lady Andal School.
The theme of these installations was sustainability, which explains trees were a part of them. “When HRRA approached me, they had given me only one guideline,” says Vaishnavi, “The installations should show how one can make something big and beautiful out of recycled material.”
The stainless steel installation will be put into concrete blocks on the median. The tree installation will be erected on the pavement. However, vandalism is a key concern of both the residents and the sculptors.
“We have to place the tree installation where there are security guards or CCTV cameras have been fixed,” say members of the association.
