An environmental gold?

Remember our race to catch waste from a Commonwealth Games media event? And how we journeyed to a distant sorting depot all in the name of upcycling?

Well, dear readers, this is where it all ended up – those muddy vinyl banners really scrubbed up well as a tote and messenger bags didn’t they?

Our bags in Balban's Tomb enclosure, near Qtub Minar: we like durable constructions.

When Jake arrived in Delhi last weekend we quickly organised a few locations we thought might make suitable backdrops for our products.

So, while people were gathering at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the Games opening ceremony on Sunday, we went to the park.

But this is no ordinary park: the Archeological Park – near the Qutb Minar Complex – is full of ancient and medieval monuments and tombs, some dating back around 800 years. It’s a lush, green and restful place, enjoyed by many visitors, such as…

Girls volunteering to model our bags in the park

…a group of young ladies who chased after us to be in a photo (or two or three or…). Then we found a friendly cricketer willing to take time out from the game to model our messenger bag…

It's a six! Cricketer models messenger bag in the park

…He’s no twelfth man (we didn’t have time to catch his name as he was straight back to the game – what a marvellous player!)…

And look who we found on his way to the Games…

Salman, our Games volunteer, volunteering to model with our bag

Salman, one of thousands of Delhi’s Commonwealth Games volunteers (also quite marvellous), kindly stopped to sport our Games messenger bag on his shoulder for a while. We dig the way his uniform brightens up the bag.

The following day (Monday 5th October), we took the bags to one of the first day’s events – a men’s team gymnastics medal session.

At first we weren’t sure we’d get past security, especially with all Jake’s equipment. (These guys were serious, they even confiscated a Aussie 5c coin wedged in a corner of my wallet)…

Christina flanked by Games security guards

…But we managed to arrive at the very swish Indira Gandhi Stadium just in time to cheer the Australian men’s gymnastic team as they took out a gold medal…

Cheering the Australian Men's gymnastic team at Delhi 2010

…and look who we found cheering as well – family members of gymnast, Thomas Pichler: his mum, Sylvia Pichler and wife, Andrea Rummele. After a bit of explaining, they very graciously offered to pose in a photo for us. Sylvia mentioned how her son trains for thirty-five hours a week, as well as making an income and trying to complete university studies (we wonder how he does it?) as apparently gymnastics doesn’t attract a lot of sponsorship.

The ladies were quite enthusiastic about the bags; Sylvia runs a sportswear business and has an eye for a marketable product. Both women were interested in purchasing the bags – how’s that for a bit of positive market feedback!…

Aussie gymnast's mum and wife modelling the bags

…we had a fantastic time with Jake and wish him well re-settling back in New York (and we have more of his great photos to share with you soon).

But for now our focus is on the hunt for waste directly from the Games (remember our goal is to establish the Delhi Games as the first major event to upcycle event waste)…with only 4 days left, the race for catching waste is truly on here in Delhi…