Our Team
- Aleksandra KorolyovaArtist, TeacherFounder of the Luv Toprak project
material development, design of soft plastic products, education and outreach, exhibition curator - Andrey StrizhkovEngineer, designerFounder of the Plastic Bakery workshop
development and creation of equipment, creation of hard materials, design and creation of products
Our Mission
Humans are capable of creating a great deal, but with that capacity comes responsibility for what is created. Globalization and mass production tend to erode both ideas: goods are produced in vast quantities and sold cheaply, diminishing the perceived value of human labor and materials.
We want to restore the value of independent action. Through community-building and workshop practices, we aim to bring back a sense of agency — to turn consumers into creators, and those who ask into those who build. We want to use our example to show how personal responsibility for what we create, choose, and preserve impacts what surrounds us.
Small towns in Armenia have a long history of reusing materials and adapting objects to their needs. Yet this practice has largely been driven by necessity and scarcity. As a result, a paradigm emerged in which newness became synonymous with value, while reuse came to be associated with poverty and low social status.
We aim to challenge this perception. The value of a person lies not in what they consume, but in what they do and in what they leave behind.
We want to restore the value of independent action. Through community-building and workshop practices, we aim to bring back a sense of agency — to turn consumers into creators, and those who ask into those who build. We want to use our example to show how personal responsibility for what we create, choose, and preserve impacts what surrounds us.
Small towns in Armenia have a long history of reusing materials and adapting objects to their needs. Yet this practice has largely been driven by necessity and scarcity. As a result, a paradigm emerged in which newness became synonymous with value, while reuse came to be associated with poverty and low social status.
We aim to challenge this perception. The value of a person lies not in what they consume, but in what they do and in what they leave behind.
What We Do
The small town of Tumanyan
We create a space equipped for plastic recycling, where people can work with this material on their own and learn the basics of production. To this end, we hold workshops and invite artists who can apply this knowledge to their own projects. We place a special emphasis on plastic bags – they are small, lightweight, and cost next to nothing, which creates the illusion that they cause no harm. At the same time, 800 tons of plastic bags are consumed annually in Armenia, most of which end up in landfills.
One of the unique features of this space is the equipment, which was made on-site in a small town using readily available materials and tools. In addition to training, we constantly recycle hard and soft plastics ourselves and use them to make various products, including custom orders. Throughout the year, we also engaged in the centralized sorting and collection of plastic bottles on a city-wide scale.
We are also working to promote work with recycled plastic by participating in eco-events, fairs, and festivals, as well as by organising and taking parts in exhibitions.
One of the unique features of this space is the equipment, which was made on-site in a small town using readily available materials and tools. In addition to training, we constantly recycle hard and soft plastics ourselves and use them to make various products, including custom orders. Throughout the year, we also engaged in the centralized sorting and collection of plastic bottles on a city-wide scale.
We are also working to promote work with recycled plastic by participating in eco-events, fairs, and festivals, as well as by organising and taking parts in exhibitions.
History
Paper recycling in the Abastan Community
The Luv Toprak project and the Plastic Bakery workshop were created by Alexandra Koroleva and Andrey Strizhkov on the basis of, and with the support of, the Abastan project, which in 2022 brought together volunteers to create a creative cluster in the small town of Tumanyan in northern Armenia.
The initiative to engage with environmental practices began with a desire not to cause harm and to preserve the nature of this region. We wanted to learn how to use available resources and reduce the burden on the environment through waste separation within the community and by supporting similar initiatives by local activists. In 2023, we began experimenting with recycling and reusing secondary materials and discovered many interesting possibilities in creating and working with recycled materials.
The initiative to engage with environmental practices began with a desire not to cause harm and to preserve the nature of this region. We wanted to learn how to use available resources and reduce the burden on the environment through waste separation within the community and by supporting similar initiatives by local activists. In 2023, we began experimenting with recycling and reusing secondary materials and discovered many interesting possibilities in creating and working with recycled materials.
“
Previously, I had encountered objects made from recycled or reused materials. I was struck by ordinary, everyday items and solutions that embodied an idea of careful use of resources, preservation of history, and the realization of the potential embedded in the material.
This inspired me to start working with secondary materials within the Abastan Community, which began to take shape in northern Armenia, in the small town of Tumanyan. There was a strong desire not to cause harm, but to preserve and support this place. One of the most obvious ways to do this was to reduce the amount of ‘waste’.
That is how I began recycling plastic bags into a durable, long-lasting material, creating familiar objects, design pieces, and artworks from it, sharing my experience, and inspiring others to work with secondary materials.”
This inspired me to start working with secondary materials within the Abastan Community, which began to take shape in northern Armenia, in the small town of Tumanyan. There was a strong desire not to cause harm, but to preserve and support this place. One of the most obvious ways to do this was to reduce the amount of ‘waste’.
That is how I began recycling plastic bags into a durable, long-lasting material, creating familiar objects, design pieces, and artworks from it, sharing my experience, and inspiring others to work with secondary materials.”
In 2023, under conditions of limited resources, Andrey began developing machines for processing both rigid and flexible plastic waste, and by the end of the year the first results started to appear in the workshop: small solid sheets. This inspired us to design and create objects and artworks from this material, to share knowledge, and to bring in more and more people, engaging them with the possibilities of recycling, with a careful attitude toward resources, responsibility for their choices, and a sense that they can have an impact on the problem.
“
My interest in plastic recycling began eight years ago, when the first infrastructure for waste separation started to appear in my city. At the same time, I began to wonder how recycling actually works.
At that time, I found enthusiasts online who were recycling plastic at home, and it inspired me greatly. However, I lacked a certain impulse to begin doing it myself. That impulse came in the spring of 2023, when I became a resident of the Abastan Community
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At that time, I found enthusiasts online who were recycling plastic at home, and it inspired me greatly. However, I lacked a certain impulse to begin doing it myself. That impulse came in the spring of 2023, when I became a resident of the Abastan Community
read more
Our achievements, as we see them, lie in the fact that despite all difficulties and limitations, we continue to recycle plastic and develop an environmental practice in the conditions of a small town. We attract new people – tourists, artists, and local residents – opening the workshop not only to demonstrate the possibilities of recycling, but also to offer a personal experience of creating both material and objects.
We are glad to contribute to the development of small communities, to draw attention to regions and support them, and to serve as an example of how interest in a place, a way of life, a connection with nature, and the preservation of its resources can be sustained and strengthened.
We are glad to contribute to the development of small communities, to draw attention to regions and support them, and to serve as an example of how interest in a place, a way of life, a connection with nature, and the preservation of its resources can be sustained and strengthened.
