By Brett Perl | Co-Director
2013 was a year worth celebrating for our small project. At CGI 2013, the project won a grant competition in which I was awarded a Fellowship Grant from The Resolution Project. As a portion of the grant, I have been working very closely with with mentors to continue developing the business model (http://www.resolutionproject.org/fellows/brett-perl).
I also created an independent study at Carnegie Mellon with a materials professor to further refine the design of our furniture prototype. Additionally, I interned for a small triple-bottom-line company in Pittsburgh that turns refuse plastic bottles in Haiti into usable polyester fabric as a means of better understanding the plastic supply chain.
As a result of these exciting updates, the project has begun to change and progress. I still see the same vision for my project as I did before. However, I am now looking at a different way of the project expanding. Before, I was expecting to inject one furniture model for Builders to replicate. Because of the prior model, it would be much more difficult for the project to expand. With the new direction, Builders will now be given the tools needed to manufacture repurpose the plastic. This will give a framework for the Builders to create marketable products, but will not limit their creativity; now Builders can create countless things because they have the industry set-up for it. Expansion can now occur by Builders using existing manufacturing processes to create different products.
I expect to see a lot of progression in the following months, and am excited to share how this journey plays out. I would like to thank you again for contributing to creating a sustainable business model for those who were disabled during the 2010 earthquake and struggle to find employment with their handicap. Your generosity makes an enormous difference in the lives of countless individuals.
By Dara Perl | Founder and Co-Director
By Brett | Co-Director
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