Who would have thought that the tin bins were white cheese is stored and transported can turn into canvas for painting? Volunteers in Afytos, Halkidiki, painted the useless cheese bins, found a new function for them as flower pots and turned their village into an original open gallery.
The idea comes from Vassilis Pavlis, the former chairman of the community of Afytos, a picturesque village in the peninsula of Kassandra, Halkidiki, a village full of cobbled streets and vivid life during the summer months.
According to news agency amna, Pavlis remembered how the village grannies would nenver throw away cheese bins but use them a flower pots.
Implementing the idea was not difficult at all. Pavlis contacted friends who were artists and schools. Everybody responded with enthusiasm.
The project was launched short after the beginning of 2019. A group of Afytos volunteers was established, they acquited the know how and then they started to inform the artists and the school children how to proceed, where to find cheese bins, how to prepare them for the painting.
Within five months a total of 110 painters from across Greece and 170 children had painted more than 300 cheese bins. Some were brought in person and some were sent per post to Afytos. Then the flower potting started.
By June, the art works inclusive the flowers were placed in the center of the village so that everyone, whether local or tourists can admire them.
As there was no limits on the painting topics, Afytos is nowadays full of sun and sea, mermaids, sunsets and sunflowers, windmills and people’s portraits.
At the same time, the project raises awareness about the benefits of recycling, demonstrating in a unique way that no object should be just thrown away or end up in scrap or the landfill.
