Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

Landfill Harmonic: A youth orchestra of upcycled instruments

Watch more with these video collections:

Cateura, Paraguay’s residents live on top of a landfill that gets 1,500 tons of solid waste each day, exposing the impoverished communities to unhealthy conditions. Most of the town works in the dump as recyclers, including many of the young people. 

When local teacher Favio Chavez decided to teach the town’s children to play music using his own instruments, he soon had more students than instruments. The solution? He started teaching the students on instruments upcycled from trash and the Recycled Orchestra was born.

landfill harmonic

This trailer for the 2014 documentary, Landfill Harmonic, introduces the story of this youth orchestra and their community’s inspiring resourcefulness. The filmmakers also hope to bring attention to Cateura’s need for improved living conditions. You can follow them here: @landfillharmoni and facebook.com/landfillharmonicmovie

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Where India’s Top Brass Get Their Instruments

Rion Nakaya

What Happens When 350 Musicians Meet For The First Time?

Rion Nakaya

What does a Tibetan Singing Bowl sound like?

Rion Nakaya

What can young children do in the fight against climate change?

Rion Nakaya

Washed Ashore, giant animal sculptures made of found beach plastic

Rion Nakaya

War Horse and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Rion Nakaya

Wangari Maathai – “I will be a hummingbird”

Rion Nakaya

Vive le Vent (Jingle Bells) played on homemade instruments

Rion Nakaya

Turning plastic bottles into football jerseys

Rion Nakaya