When I boarded an AirAsia plane recently, an article in their airline magazine about a movement to use art and waste to reduce poverty in Indonesia grabbed my attention. Intrigued, as soon as my feet hits the ground, I googled them out. And the things I found out about them are just too cool to not be shared!


Have you ever wondered what happens to the waste you throw out? All those used soap containers, detergent bottles, oil packets, clothes softener sachets, toothpaste tubes? Well guess what. Those things, along with used car seats, old billboard adverts, are being used by XSProject, to make uber-cool bags, pouches, laptop bags, wallets, and so many other stuffs! I was just stunned at how gorgeous those things turned out!

According to their website, www.xstransformed.org, XSProject transforms consumer and corporate waste into products with innovative designs. They use art and design to create new uses for waste, reducing the amount of garbage burned or buried in landfills. In the process, they create jobs and stimulate the local economy to combat poverty.


XSProject donates a portion of its revenues directly to a scholarship fund that supports some of Indonesia’s poor, the children of trash pickers. With the educational opportunities provided by XSProject, these children can choose to pursue a brighter future, and eventually improve their standard of living, away from the trash heaps.

From another article I found, XS Project Foundation endeavors to use design and education to protect the environment and reduce poverty. Activities involve large scale design efforts and through recycling finding new ways of using non recyclable waste to create fresh products, reduce trash and provide livelihoods for the poor. XSProject Foundation works across sectors, developing community-specific recycling and environmental awareness programs and innovative product design. All of their programs help raise the quality of life for Jakarta’s trash pickers who live in extreme poverty as well as teaching people life skills at NGOs. The simple pilot projects developed by XSProject Foundation are intended for replication across Indonesia, providing new income opportunities for the poor while reducing the huge, growing volume of trash.

Unlike valued ‘sanitation workers’ in many other countries who have insurance, benefits, uniforms, decent salaries, vacations and enjoy social recognition, the trash picking population in Indonesia is somewhat “invisible”. They create a living off our consumer habits and lack of environmental responsibility.


XSProject purchases trash at above average prices from trash picking community members and then transforms this trash into beautifully crafted designs. XSProject is not only using small consumer wastes products like oil and soap packets but are now creating products out of advertising banners and other large scale waste.

A percentage of sales from XSProject products is used to provide the community with cleaner facilities and amenities. XSProject has provided the kampung (village) with toilets, water pumps and other materials that improve their standard of living. Along with this, XSProject also provides the children of the kampung with specific goods they need for school, like books and uniforms.

Your participation and your support of the XSProject Foundation is highly welcomed. Your support is crucial in enabling the foundation to implement initiatives that will benefit many Indonesians while creating new projects that tie together environmental cleanup and awareness with poverty reduction through education and innovative design ideas.

For more information, or to visit their showroom, please contact:
XS Project Shop
Jl. Kaimun Jaya No. 28
RT.010 / RW.04
Cilandak Barat, Jakarta 12430
Email [email protected]
Website www.xsprojectgroup.com
+62-812 105 3614 (Retno)

For Donations:
Account name: Yayasan XSProject Reguna Kreasi
Account Number: 127-00-0427564-8 (IDR)
Bank: Bank Mandiri – Cabang Fatmawati, Jakarta

Additional Sales Outlets

Jakarta International Community Center (JICC)
Jl. Kemang V No. 2
Kemang, Jakarta Selatan
Tel. (62-21) 7179 1835
Fax (62-21) 719 3180

Alun Alun
Grand Indonesia, Shopping Town, West Mall – Level 3
Jalan M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Jakarta 10310
Tel. (62-21) 2358-0890

Source: Expat.or.id and XSTransformed.org