By HoneyColony Staff

If you ever needed proof that inspiration can come from anywhere, check out the sweet sounds of the Landfill Harmonic, an orchestra in Paraguay where young musicians play instruments made entirely from trash.

The children, mostly teens, come from a slum called Cateura that was built upon the remnants of a landfill. But the trash still comes, more than 1500 tons every day, and the two-thousand families who call the area home make their living by hand-separating the garbage for recycling.

When it rains, sickeningly contaminated water floods through the homes. Few of its inhabitants know how to read. Even fewer have ever gone to school.

Yet within this microcosm of what appears to be utter hopelessness, one man is making amazing music that has caught the world’s attention. Favio Chavez, director and founder of the Landfill Harmonic, has taught the children how to build their own instruments. They make cellos out of oil cans and violins out of coffee cans, and most of them play with Chavez every day.

“People realize that we shouldn’t throw away trash carelessly,” says Chavez. “Well, we shouldn’t throw away people either.”

You can find out more about the Landfill Harmonic and make a much-needed donation here.