Our Story
Ciclomanias started out as the dream of two high school students from the city of Aguascalientes, México: Elizabeth Romo Rábago and Marco Adolfo Rivera Muñoz. Ever since, Ciclomanias has been built upon three objectives that have been key to its development in Mexico and Canada:
- The elaboration of unique, useful, and environmentally friendly goods that contributes to a circular economy.
- The development of environmental education programs to raise awareness about the imperative need to act towards environmental protection.
- The participation and empowerment of underrepresented and marginalized groups.
Ludoplastia
Since 2002, Ciclomanias has had the privilege to incorporate the Ludoplastia technique and environmental education methods to achieve its first and second objectives.
The Ludoplastia Technique (from the Greek words Ludos – play and plasté- shape), is a technique created by a Mexican architect and artist, José Luis Vargas Luévano, that uses geometric shapes. He suggested that “to be able to play with the geometric shapes one should first know their origin” to finally create objects full of art.
Our artwork is based on this principle of playing with geometric shapes to represent any object in a three dimensional space using recycled materials such as corrugated cardboard and plastic bottles. The designs and colors used in our artwork reflect elements of nature, plants, animals and landscapes seen in different seasons and settings.
Never too Late to Make a Difference
In 2003, Ciclomanias achieved its third objective when a social service was developed to connect undergraduate students with seniors’ communities throughout the City of Aguascalientes with upcycling workshops. The program was called “Never too late to make a difference”. It was a great way to connect Art, environmental conservation while building communities. These workshops helped both generations to talk about environmental issues, particularly waste in a fun, artistic and productive way. The upcycled art and crafts made during these sessions were sold and provided an extra income for the seniors that otherwise had limited job opportunities.
This was the beginning of Ciclomanias’ holistic approach to integrate the three pillars of Sustainability by protecting our environment with productive activities while empowering underrepresented and marginalized groups.