Bell House – adult Life Skills Training Centre
Upcycle and Bell House: Creating Purpose Through Meaningful Engagement
At Upcycle, we believe that waste is not the end of a story — it is the beginning of something new. The same principle applies to people. Our partnership with Bell House, a private psychiatric care facility in Allens Nek, Roodepoort, reflects this belief in transformation through purpose, creativity, and care.
Bell House provides a safe, supportive residential environment for individuals navigating burnout, trauma, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. Beyond clinical care, the Bell House team places strong emphasis on meaningful daily activity as part of the healing process — work that restores routine, confidence, and a sense of contribution.
This is where our collaboration began.
When Nicole from the Bell House team reached out to explore purposeful, hands-on activities for residents, Upcycle was a natural fit. Our work sits at the intersection of environmental responsibility and human empowerment, offering accessible tasks that are practical, calming, and genuinely useful.
Purposeful Tasks with Real Impact
Through this partnership, Bell House residents contribute to real upcycling processes that form part of Upcycle’s broader production ecosystem. Activities are carefully selected to be familiar, repetitive, and achievable, allowing residents to participate without pressure or expectation.
These tasks include:
- Cutting fabric scraps for pillow and dog-bed stuffing
- Untangling donated T-shirt yarn
- Removing zips and components from old garments
- Debranding pens and preparing materials for reuse
While simple in nature, these steps are essential to creating quality upcycled products. Residents are not “kept busy” — they are contributing meaningfully to work that supports environmental outcomes and community benefit. read more here about the solutions that this type of opportinity creates
Seeing the Bigger Picture
A particularly powerful moment in the partnership came when Winnie from Upcycle visited Bell House with finished products made from the residents’ contributions. Seeing fabric they had cut turned into dog beds, cushions, and eco-friendly footstools created a tangible connection between effort and outcome.
For many residents, this reinforced an important message: their work matters. They are part of a process larger than themselves, and their contribution has real value.
A Supportive, Inclusive Environment
All activities at Bell House take place in a calm, non-pressured setting. Music often plays in the background, conversations flow naturally, and residents are free to engage at their own pace. This approach is essential, particularly for individuals managing anxiety, reduced concentration, or motor challenges related to medication.
Upcycle’s model is intentionally inclusive. We focus on engagement, rhythm, and participation rather than output targets. Bell House provides the care framework; Upcycle provides the materials, structure, and ongoing support.
Expanding Sustainable Creativity
In addition to textile-based work, Bell House residents also participate in other sustainability initiatives. These include creating eco-bricks — plastic bottles densely packed with non-recyclable waste — which Upcycle later converts into functional furniture. Residents have also painted recycled stepping stones used in nursery school hopscotch games, extending the impact of their work into early childhood spaces.
These projects reinforce a key principle of the circular economy: small, consistent actions can lead to meaningful change.
Shared Values, Shared Impact
Nicole’s commitment to adapting activities to residents’ abilities and interests mirrors Upcycle’s own values of fairness, respect, and shared responsibility. Together, we ensure that participation is always voluntary, dignified, and supportive.
This partnership is not transactional. It is relational, evolving, and rooted in mutual respect.
Turning Waste into Work — and Work into Hope
Our collaboration with Bell House demonstrates that upcycling is about far more than waste diversion. It is about restoring purpose, building confidence, and creating opportunities for people to contribute in ways that feel safe and achievable.
Every cut of fabric, every prepared material, and every finished product carries a story of resilience and renewal.
This is what we mean when we say we turn waste into work — and work into hope. for more information or to get your organisation involved with Upcycle contact us today