This week, as we began our new project we began learning about different types of sustainable practices. We learned about the cradle to cradle method and the up-cycling method. Cradle to cradle refers to when people reuse materials in order to reduce the amount of waste produced. It enriches ecosystems and make for a healthier environment to live in. Up-cycling, however, refers to reusing a material that is no longer of use and creatively turning it into a better product which is of greater value than before.

As we continued conducting our new assignment, we brainstormed on ways to up-cycle products and make better use of them. The materials that we were allotted were Cork and MDF. We researched the uses of this product and found out a lot about their properties. MDF makes for a sturdy and strong type of wood and is an insulator, and Cork has low density and is also impermeable. After thinking about several ideas and ways to create a product out of these two materials such as a floatie for kids, a pin board and a cup holder (insulation), we settled on creating a manual massager. The design we made is below: