Tobacco has made millionaires out of many and even though major tobacco manufacturers are no longer profiteering from their sponsorship of major sports events, they still have contributed in parts to the development of the economies of many smaller urban centers and towns around the world. Lexington-Fayette Urban County in Kentucky is one such town though with the decline of the tobacco economy and mechanization of tobacco farming, a lot of traditional farming equipment is now being repurposed by local artisans into creating handicrafts.
Tobacco sticks that were produced during the process of drying and curing of harvested tobacco have now been given a new lease of life by designer Madelynn Ringo who proposes to reuse them as vision and sun control mechanism in local bus shelters. The sticks can be easily woven into a mesh that would cover the gap between rafters and provide shade from the sun using a reclaimed material that has strong emotional, cultural and historic significance for the local public.
The sticks serve as a cheap and readily available local resource that is otherwise left to rot and is wasted and turns it into a money-saving material that can be put to an artistically and structurally sound use for the creation of public spaces using green technologies.
Source: Madelynn Ringo