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Cristina, a teen who grew up in a poor neighborhood in Madrid, never imagined herself playing the violin. But today she is first violinist in an inventive orchestra (乐团), bringing together two dozen other disadvantaged youths, using instruments made from recycled materials. “I am really happy, because the project has changed my life a lot,” said Cristina, her eyes gleaming.

Luis, 18, credits the project with keeping him on a right track in a neighbourhood like Vallecas, which has a high school dropout rate. “Instead of meeting up with friends, I preferred to listen to music, play it, and little by little it became a way of life,” he said.

The project, called “Music of Recycling”, aims to breathe new life into junk while also benefiting youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and it is run by Spanish environmental group Ecoembes and is inspired by Paraguay’s Cateura orchestra, made up of musicians from a poor neighborhood who play instruments made from materials found in waste.

After Ecoembes invited the Cateura orchestra to perform in Madrid in 2014, the group decided to found its own similar ensemble (小乐团) that same year, said Gil, the director of Music of Recycling. The ensemble put on its first concert just four months later and “the kids could not play more than four notes,” said Gil.

Now after having performed in cities across Spain, “We already have four boys studying in scholarships at music schools,” he added. More than 100 children are taking music classes from members of the orchestra as part of the project.

The instruments are created by Soler, a third-generation instrument maker, from cans, wooden boxes and parts of abandoned instruments. He tried to make the instruments as close to their “normal” shape as possible so the children won’t have difficulty playing regular equipment in the future.