Türkiye transforms earthquake-damaged school desks

In a project led by the Kahramanmaraş Vocational Maturity Institute, Türkiye, school desks that became unusable after the earthquake were repurposed in the institute’s woodcarving workshop and redesigned as chess sets.

The project aims to raise both environmental awareness and young people’s interest in intellectual games, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

Institute Director Ayşegül Kirişci told AA that zero-waste initiatives are an important focus for vocational institutes.

Emphasizing the importance of recycling, Kirişci said, “In our woodcarving workshop, we have transformed school desks damaged in the February 6 earthquakes. We converted the desks into chess sets for our youth.”

City symbols used as chess pieces
Kirişci added that the entirely handcrafted chess set replaces classic pieces with symbols of Kahramanmaraş:

“We created our own pieces. They represent Sütçü İmam, the Independence Medal, Ulu Mosque, Maraş Castle, a lion figure, and the Maraş militias. We wanted young people to play the game with figures representing Kahramanmaraş’s values instead of the usual horse or bishop.”

As reported by CE Report, she also noted that the chess set, produced and sold by the institute, has received a registered design certificate.