From making pouches out of repurposed plastic to bamboo bracelets and earrings, the Guam Green Growth Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub has been encouraging the island’s community to live a more sustainable lifestyle by taking advantage of the resources around them.
The G3 Makerspace and Innovation Hub started holding workshops at their location in Hagåtña’s CHamoru Village in March and has offered courses that involve fusing plastic bags together to make pouches, dyeing fabric with natural pigments found on the island, and processing locally harvested bamboo into vases, bangles, and earrings.
The workshops engage the community in the circular economy, which eliminates waste by promoting the continual use of products. In addition, the workshops also encourage its participants to think of ways to address invasive species such as bamboo and turn them into resources they can use.
Bamboo is an invasive species on Guam because it clogs riverways and causes erosion when bunches of it are ripped from the ground during a storm.
“Right now, we’ve been teaching them how to make jewelry pieces, but we want to expand and teach our community how to utilize bamboo as a source of lumber,” said Joey Certeza, the G3 Circular Economy Makerspace Assistant. “We want to learn how to work with our land and how to utilize the resources it offers us.”
In May, the makerspace will offer workshops that will use malt bags donated from local breweries to make bucket hats and tote bags.
Additional upcoming workshops include printmaking courses in which participants can use marine debris to print on a fabric that can be made into pouches and leather workshops.
“The reception from our participants has been really good,” said Abby Crain, the Guam Green Growth Education Coordinator. “We’ve had couples who do it for a date night, families that come and bring their teenagers with them, and there is this one lady who has done almost every workshop and she’s been a repeat client.”
Certeza says that he enjoys facilitating the workshops because it gives him an opportunity to make connections within the community.
“The kind of experience I’ve been striving to provide while working with Guam Green growth is for the community to realize that engaging in a sustainable lifestyle is easier than you think,” said Certeza. “I want our community to realize the capacity of what they can do with their hands and their minds with the resources the island provides for us.”
Workshops at the G3 Circular Economy and Innovation Hub are $20 and above and are held on Thursdays and Saturdays.
For more information about upcoming workshops, please visit the facility’s events page.
The Guam Green Growth Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub is funded in part by Guam NSF EPSCoR.