33-Year-Old KZN Designer Nelson Beams As He Sees His Sustainably Made Product on Mr Price Home Shelves

• A man named Nelson Dumakudehas has turned ocean and river waste into a stunning design that is now being sold in Mr Price Home stores
• Nelson joined The Litter Boom Project, helping clean the rivers and oceans, and his passion for sustainability boomed
• Seeing his product on Mr Price Home shelves was a massive moment for Nelson that he’ll never forget

From a small town in KZN known as Richards Bay, small Nelson Dumakudehas would have never dreamed of having seen himself creating a product that would be on the shelves in Mr Price Home stores, let alone becoming a sustainable designer who is helping save the planet with his beautiful and functional designs.

Plastic waste is slowly killing our planet by hurting the wildlife, food, and water sources that animals and humans depend on for survival. Nelson is not only a designer, he is an Earth warrior who is saving our planet, one sustainably made design at a time.

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From a small town in KZN, working as a porter at a resort, to saving the planet

Despite having grown up by the ocean in Richardsbay, it was never Nelson’s plan to become a sustainable designer until one day, he took on a temp job helping clean up waste along the river banks and mouths in KZN.

Nelson was a porter at Zimbali Resort. One morning a man from The Litter Boom Project drove into Waterloo looking for people to help clean the beaches after the treacherous rains that hit KZN in 2022, and that was the day Nelson’s purpose shifted.

“It was a totally random meeting. I met Nelson in Waterloo and explained what I needed, and he set up a team. While there was no hierarchy to the team on the beach, Nelson took a leadership role, and the rest is history from there,” explained Cameron Service, CEO of The Litterboom Project.

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Nelson was given a permanent job as a Water Warden, and his passion for cleaning up the rivers and oceans grew from there.

Nelson’s big Mr Price Home moment

Just recently, Nelson walked into a Mr Price Home store, saw his product on the shelves, and beamed. Merging his love for design and sustainability, Nelson created a planter stake supporter, which is made entirely from plastic waste collected from the ocean and rivers.

Take a look at this momentous moment of Nelson seeing his product in Mr Price Home:

Nelson did not only design this product, he machined it and sourced the plastic for the prototype product himself. What an incredible journey!

CEO of The Litterboom Project, Cameron Service, explained that this partnership with Mr Price Home came about as a collective effort to reuse plastic waste. It was also a joint mission to help aspiring entrepreneurs get a break while making an impactful difference.

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“Our partnership came about as an alignment between TLP looking to explore other value chains to conventional recycling and Mr Price Foundations’ passion for training, education and catalysing a meaningful environmental project to also impact positively on aspiring entrepreneurs in an economically viable way.”

Sustainability has become a part of Nelson’s identity: “Reduce, reuse and recycle”

Nelson feels blessed to be part of a bigger picture, one that is making an impact on future generations. Being part of The Litterboom Project has taught him a lot, and he couldn’t be more grateful.

“Working at The Litter Boom Project as a water warden collecting plastic then, I got to learn about plastic and how to work with it, and the impotence of saving the environment.

“Creating products from waste plastic has taught me how to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Sustainability has taught me the ability to serve needs without compromising the needs of the future.”

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When asked what he would tell his 12-year-old self if he had the chance, Nelson said:

“Stick to what you know better and follow the correct instructions, and you'll make big in life.”

We cannot wait to see what the future holds for Nelson, The Litterboom Project and all those who are doing the most to make a difference through sustainability.

Syrians turn plastic waste into rugs to make a living

In related news, Briefly News reported that at a rubbish dump in northwest Syria, Mohammed Behlal rummages for plastic to be sold to recyclers and transformed into floor rugs and other items in the impoverished rebel enclave.

In rebel-held Syria, recycling is rarely an environmental impulse but rather a grim lifeline for needy residents looking for work or items they otherwise could not afford.

Braving the stench, insects and risk of disease, 39-year-old Behlal hacks through the rubbish pile with a scythe and his bare hands.

Source: Briefly News