UpcycleCHQ held a booth for Chautauquans to drop off and exchange material goods during the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative’s Community Material Exchange July, 19 2026 at Bestor Plaza. SAM HUFFMAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
LILY RESLINK
Staff Writer
Kenneth Omeruo said living in Nigeria normalized reducing waste through reuse, and he carried this mindset into his business ventures in Jamestown, New York, which ultimately led to founding UpcycleCHQ.
According to Omeruo, UpcycleCHQ is an initiative to provide opportunities for social connection and economic development to local makers and creatives who repurpose materials.
“From my experience, people are already doing things to reduce waste, but nobody’s giving them a voice,” Omeruo said.
UpcycleCHQ emerged from GreenClusta Technologies LLC — Omeruo’s 2024 startup focused on digital tools to support sustainable local commerce and resource-sharing. He said the long-term vision for the organization is “making it easier for people to discover reusable materials, connect with local makers, share skills, find repair services and support locally made products.”
Omeruo said he launched the UpcycleCHQ Maker’s Pilot Program online to explore “whether reusable materials, local skills, creativity and community collaboration can become the foundation for new products and micro-enterprise opportunities.”
With some in-person programming at local libraries, he said Facebook is currently the hub for most of UpcycleCHQ’s operations. Omeruo said the page gained momentum in March through a weekly upcycling challenge open to all in the region.
Omeruo said UpcycleCHQ provides makers opportunities to benefit from each other’s skills and connections. He said he aims to increase access to participation in local commerce. “When you talk about the economic aspect of it, which is where my heart is … we want to bring people into that maker space, into that maker system.”
Focusing on local economies in the region, Omeruo said, often consists of farmers markets and other platforms for local exchange. Upcycling in local commerce, according to Omeruo, prevents both materials and skills from being wasted. Omeruo said pushing people into sustainable actions is not necessary when a platform enables opportunities for upcycling that align with community members’ existing skills and personal interests.
“While I coordinate the initiative through GreenClusta Technologies, what makes UpcycleCHQ special is that it’s supported by an incredible network of makers, volunteers, libraries, community partners, instructors, businesses and organizations who have embraced the idea and contributed their own time, skills and creativity,” Omeruo said.
Included in this network is Chautauqua’s Climate Change Initiative, whose partnership enabled UpcycleCHQ’s debut on Institution grounds for Sunday’s Community Material Exchange.
“I … hope this becomes the beginning of a longer relationship where Chautauqua can serve as a place to explore, test and share ideas that other communities can learn from,” Omeruo said.
Omeruo credited Chautauqua Institution with helping to inspire these ideas. Now, he said his return “feels like bringing that conversation full circle.”
“Before launching UpcycleCHQ, I attended circular economy programs here that encouraged me to think differently about waste, local economies and the assets already present in communities,” Omeruo said.
Since attending those programs in 2024, Omeruo has been in conversation with Peter Nosler Director of the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative Mark Wenzler. Omeruo and Wenzler agreed on upcycling’s potential to create opportunities in the region in a way that is environmentally sustainable and economically feasible across the range of financial statuses.
”We want to be good neighbors and good stewards and good citizens and we want to help … the community by giving them a place to make more connections, a place where they can feel welcomed to come,” Wenzler said.
Omeruo said he sees reuse practices as a means of community development, and with UpcycleCHQ, “a big part of what we’re doing … is bridging that economic gap.”
Longtime Chautauquan Janet Forbes has followed CCI’s implementation from the start and spoke on the Institution’s efforts to amplify its regional, year-round impact.
“It’s a very unique place here because at the same time, the county and the region is here … 365 days a year,” Forbes said. “To me, the things that Chautauqua can do to really connect meaningfully beyond the nine weeks is a wonderful thing.”
Claire Johnson Baker, an independent contractor working with CCI, commented on Omeruo’s efforts to build a grassroots community of upcycling in the Chautauqua region. “He has built a really great network of people in Chautauqua County who are just incredibly creative with what they’re reusing or what they’re making out of offcast … byproducts of really anything.”
Following the first material exchange, Wenzler said he wants to implement more opportunities for off-grounds makers and material repurposing, particularly in the weekly Sunday community fairs.
Baker said this collaborative program was a pilot, but she sees opportunity for growth at the Institution as a venue for “creating a future where we’re not throwing away these useful materials and we are able to connect them to the creatives who can build something beautiful or just repurpose them meaningfully.”
Omeruo said upcycling encourages people to use their existing skills in creative ways. Omeruo talked about cultural shifts in the U.S. and said it is important to continue generationally passing on these skills. He said he wants to make these generational skills “fashionable again.”
Regarding the range of motivation to participate in UpcycleCHQ, Omeruo said one stands out: “People are looking for community.”
Following his 2014 move from Nigeria to Jamestown, Omeruo said he became increasingly interested in sustainability as he immersed himself in entrepreneurial endeavors. Through UpcycleCHQ, Omeruo said he has seen creativity, resourcefulness and ingenuity through people’s engagement in upcycling.
“I think people are often remembered more for what they create than for what they consume. Creating requires imagination, problem-solving, generosity and a willingness to share something with others,” Omeruo said. “One of the beautiful things we’ve seen through UpcycleCHQ is that when people begin making things — whether it’s a quilt, a tote bag, a repaired chair or a garden planter — they also begin sharing stories, teaching skills and building relationships. Creation has a way of bringing people together.”
