Kwarachi Machine – Providing Quality Cut Huarache Soles
Posted: January 21, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Crafts, Design, Fashion, Footwear Design, Handcrafted, Huarache, Huarachero, Huaraches, Mexican Crafts, Mexican Footwear, Mexico, Pata de Gallo, Recycled Materials, Sandals, Sustainable, Sustainable Footwear, Traditional Footwear, Woven Footwear, Woven Sandals 1 Comment »According to Mexican designer Alejandro Curi every year 25 million vehicle tyres are thrown away in Mexico alone, of which only 5% is recycled. The former FIT design student saw the great potential of re-purposing such a high quality and abundant material and so developed the Kwarachi Machine.
Kwarachi Machine is project where press and sole cutting dies would be placed in marginalized and impoverished areas around Mexico, where many still cannot afford shoes. Such a set up would provide locals with a basic resource that they could use to make their own Huarache Footwear, but which they could also use to make Huaraches to start a small business and generate income.
The idea of providing a common use cutting press and cutting die is interesting because it could provide unskilled craftspeople a tool to create a quality cut sole. This is would be especially valuable today as most Radial tyres have steel wires running through them, making hand cutting with a knife impossible.
Via ecouterre
Check this video out on another business that is helping to preserve local craft footwear and leather making in Brazil. http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/brazilian-slow-shoes-handmade-hand-dyed-reused-tire-soles/