As part of my journey in sustainability with Szatyor, I participated in another exciting Erasmus program called the Value of Waste. It is the cooperation of 3 organisations, Szatyor, the Slovenian Knof and the Croatian Udruga Vestigium. The aim of the project is to spark curiosity and offer simple solutions on the global issue of waste management, through discovering the topics of organic, textile and plastic waste.
The very first event was organised in Slovenia, between the 14-17 March, 2024 in the Slovenian Krsko, in form of a study visit at Zavod Knof.
Our visit included a field trip to the waste collection center in Novo Mesto, where we could get an insight into how they manage the collected waste of the surrounding 8 communities (ca 25.000 households).
We also Visited KNOF’s shop in Ljubjana, where they sell redesigned clothes, redesigned chairs and fair trade products. We also visited KNOF’s 2000 m2 centre in Krško, what they rent from a supermarket. The main areas are their office, the Salon, the Butik, a fab lab and an area where they can repair furniture. KNOF Circle they collect the clothes locally, and upcycle or just resell them.
- In the SALON you can leave your furniture and other things there for up to 3 months and if they sell it, you get 70% of the price, they take 30% commission
- They have a little workshop in the back where they renew some furniture e.g. change the tapestry - they plan to move this part to a more industrial location and use the space to enlarge the SALON
- They also have a fab lab where they upcycle plastic, and here we had the possibility to try ourselves and get creative and create design lamps
We also visited the CENTER ROG in Ljubjana https://www.center-rog.si/ which was our favorite part of the trip. This former leather products factory was turned into a modern center currently run by the city, having different functions:
- They redesigned the park and planted “edible trees”
- On the ground floor they developed 9 labs on 1200 m2, which people can use for a small membership fee (they have various packages). Each lab has a manager and 2-3 mentors who can help them to create, repair, try and test new technics. These labs include: wood, textile, glass, jewelry, ceramics, metal cooking and a green lab. They are also curated programmes and courses people can join.
- The Rog Center also has five residential apartments, a unit of the Ljubljana City Library, a large exhibition and event hall, a cafe, bistro and restaurant, and several shops with local and design products.
In the afternoon we had a workshop on sustainable and social entrepreneurship with eco-design principles in KNOF Circular Laboratory
On the last day we had a round table with conclusions and reflections on gained knowledge and experience in KNOF Circular Laboratory before our departure home.
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