Sculptor builds recycling machine
He’s perhaps best known for his sculptures, most recently his larger-than-life “Citrus Worker”. But Stephen Okeke is also fascinated by machines and his latest invention has the poetic name “Silent Thunder”. The recycling machine is used to grind discarded plastics into pellets or granules which then can be sold or exported to manufacturing companies to make a variety of items.
Stephen Okeke, Technologist
“For me art is engineering and engineering is art and also I try to use these tools to let the people know that if you don’t have a dream, it should be a basis for failing. If you don’t have a dream you can manufacture a dream.
My ultimate intention is to expose my friends in Belize to technology that is appropriate for the region and other things that can be done in Belize and be done very well if people want to work towards it.
Entirely built locally the parts were bought here in Belize, cut into shape, welded and finished the way it is here. It was built in Belize from scratch.”
Q: “Where did you get the design?”
Stephen Okeke
“The design is original; everything here is original. It is unique; you can’t find any other machine that looks exactly this way.”
You can see “Silent Thunder” in operation at the Belize Technical College.
