The treasure in the trash

Talk about a double entendre!

Ever since our first trip to Kenya in 2014 I have been enthralled by the idea of the African “Mamas”and their craft. The companionship of working side by side in their communities , sharing their lives while crafting beauty for their livelihood. Sounds like my dream job...or my knitting group minus the livelihood part! Never would I have imagined all these years later that I would be spearheading such an initiative.

The visionaries of Living Hope ( Avril and John) have asked me to take on such a project. Through crocheting , knitting and weaving recylcable materials, our hope is to find a means of income for Mamas that aren’t able to get out into the workforce for a variety of reasons. 

I have been charged with enlisting instructors , researching and  sourcing possible materials ,determining what the end product will be, and establishing the market ( markets. )

I meet with a woman later this week who is already crocheting shopping bags from recycled plastic bags and is open to taking on a group of peers to train up. ✅ Now we have to come up with a way to compensate her for being the leader and collaborater while encouraging a supportive peer group. It makes way more sense to have one Mama in charge of selling the goods at the market , rather then all of them going with kids in tow. Besides which, some of these women are housebound, thus not able to work.

Sean and I have another meeting this week with a leading environmental activist employed by the Two Oceans Aquarium, Hayley McLellan . South Africa is remarkably progressive when it comes to all matters environment and conservation and I’m hoping Hayley will be able tp provide some insight into sourcing discarded textiles and other materials that might have potential as a medium. Sean is hoping to get her thoughts on the future of bottled water in S.A as he is currently trying to figure out how to best sell Living Hopes’ spring water. It is super exciting for both of us to be incorporating environmental work with social entrepreneurship and mission.

This section of the blog is a big shout out to all my knitting friends and creative types who have any input to offer ....creative or otherwise. Besides shopping bags, baskets and throw rugs , what else might be appealing or useful ? Remember these are not skilled artisans, just desperate women  wanting to put a little more food on the table. 

This brings me to my final consideration, who is the customer? Apparently “ Numi” sells her shopping  bags in the township to her neighbors. In this scenario plastic works well and mats and bags are useful , but is there a wider market for this type of product? 

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Jan