ABOUT

Upcycle Santa Fe LLC was established in the spring of 2014 by Jo Stodgel, graduate of the Schumacher College Holistic MSc in England and founder of the Trash to Treasure Festivals Project in Greyton, South Africa. Foundational organizational assistance was provided by the Germany-based DO School through their Sustainable Cup Challenge Fellowship, and initial funding came from Disney’s Change the Game competition. The vision of Upcycle Santa Fe is the establishment of holistic and comprehensive waste management systems at the grassroots local level, that provide economic opportunities and promote the conservation and rehabilitation of nature. Our mission is to research and develop these systems and aid people, businesses and organizations in realizing their potential.

JO STODGEL – Founding Director
A “born here all my life” resident of Santa Fe, NM, jo fish.jpg Jo Stodgel has long been engaged in the creative pursuits which characterize the City Different. Before his final year of High School he was able to join the local Bali Art Project, and embark on his first international and life-changing trip. In the following years he traveled to 20 countries, studied abroad in ecovillages in Scotland and India, and eventually found his way to the Schumacher College in England to study a masters degree in holistic science. For his dissertation work in 2012, he spent three months in the South African village of Greyton establishing the Trash to Treasure Festival of Transition on the edge of the local dumping site. This began a focus on the research and development of waste management practices through the lens of holistic science. A year later he was accepted for a fellowship in NYC with the German DO School, where he pitched and developed his business venture plans for Upcycle Santa Fe. He founded the business shortly after in New Mexico, and has been working on it since. Jo’s other passions include art, music, and the great outdoors.