One man’s trash is another man’s treasure:

A look inside Estrie Aide and Jonction Éducation’s eco-responsible partnership

Estrie Aide and Jonction Éducation hosted their first Défab-lab workshop on Saturday, Oct. 6.

Estrie Aide is one of the Eastern Townships’ largest social economy enterprises, while Jonction Éducation, founded by Félix Arguin and Guillaume Laporte, offers techno-pedagogical services to educational institutions as well as community organizations to integrate handson activities that involve new technologies.

The deconstruction workshop allowed children to disassemble tons of electronic devices to better understand their function. Attendees were also able to leave with some of the functional items they worked on.

Held in the Estrie Aide headquarters, a dozen families gathered for Défab-lab. Laporte and a Jonction Éducation employee were on hand to help children during the activity.

Arguin and Laporte double their time as high school teachers at Séminaire de Sherbrooke. They were awarded the Mérite Estrien prize on Oct. 2 for the work they do inside and outside of the classroom.

Established in 1997, Estrie Aide has offered repurposed clothing, furniture, electronics, and appliances to all inhabitants in the Townships. They focus on social reintegration, community building, and environmental protection. They also receive thousands of donations every year. However, they do not repurpose electronic items that are beyond repair. Rather than sending unusable devices to landfills, Estrie Aide has donated over 500 pounds of salvaged electronic pieces to Junction Éducation to give the damaged items a second life, which will be used in classrooms, workshops, and community activities to help motivate children in their schooling.

Estrie Aide and Jonction Éducation will be hosting another Défab-lab workshop in November for the price of $10 per family. Those interested can check out both Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/estrieaideofficiel/ and www.facebook.com/jonctioneducation/.

COURTESY OF ESTRIE AIDE Over 40 people attended the first edition of Défab-lab, hosted by Estrie Aide and Jonction Éducation, where they were able to disassemble and rebuild electronic devices to gain a better understanding of how they work.