Cateura, in the Santa Ana neighborhood of Paraguay's capital Asuncion, is a slum. The residents live on a massive landfill, picking through the refuse for items to recycle and sell. A place where a violin would be worth more than a house, is, perhaps, the last place you'd expect to find an orchestra.
But that changed the day that garbage collector (now luthier) Nicolas "Cola" Gomez picked up the shell of what looked to him like a violin.
He took it to Favio Chavez, who was working on a recycling program and had opened up a music school for local kids, and together, they started creating musical instruments: violins and cellos from oil drums, flutes from water pipes and spoons, guitars from packing crates.
In a place where children have very little chance of a better life, the Los Reciclados (Recycled) Orchestra gives them hope. "Landfill Harmonic," by documentary maker Alejandra Amarilla Nash, wants to tell the world the story of Ada, Tania, Noelia, Esteban, Maria, and Christian -- how they live, and how the Recycled Orchestra changed their lives. If the Kickstarter campaign reaches its stretch goal of $500,000, it will also send the orchestra on a tour of the world.
You can find out more about the orchestra on both the film's Kickstarter page (where you can also find an address to send instruments, if you'd like to donate) and Facebook page.
(Source: Crave Australia)