A Bali house built with recycled materials – an art activist shows how to create a ‘zero waste’ home

“In Europe, I used antique kimonos to create high-end garments. Then in Hong Kong, I worked in the shoe industry [doing quality control]. It was insane – the over-consumption, the consumerism. I didn’t want to be part of that industry.”

So Klauss turned to art, which she has loved since her childhood in the southern German countryside.

“In Hong Kong, I found a way to bring my two passions – nature and art – toge­ther,” she says. “We lived on Lantau and Lamma [for nine years], close to nature, but we were shocked at the tangible pollution. My daughter, Lucia, developed asthma, which is why we moved to Bali – she doesn’t get it here. My husband is a pilot, so he is able to commute. I noticed the colours of the rubbish washed up on the beaches, so I made art from it – to make people look at it.”

Klauss’ latest project is an installation called 5,000 Lost Soles, at Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak, and comprises a rainbow of flip-flops and other footwear collected from Bali’s west coast.

Her scavenging instincts are also appa­rent in the home the couple bought in Bali, a five-bedroom, 3,875 sq ft villa set among rice fields 15 minutes from touristy Canggu. Built in 2014 by French self-taught architect Philippe Delsaut, the residence comprises three buildings around a garden and swimming pool.