‘Wonders of Waste’ Bags – an ecological livelihood project

Ellen Teague with WoW Bags

Hope can certainly be found in dark places. On a recent visit to the Philippines I was taken on a walk through Manila’s Area 9, which lies in the Columban Parish of Malate, near Manila Bay. My guide was an old friend, Helen Mitchell, along with two of the women who work on her income-generating project, Wonders of Waste Bags or WoW Bags.

Helen, Edith and Marivic led me through a maze of dark and smelly alleyways, making our way over broken paving stones covering sewers. Babies were being nurtured and tiny children hanging around doorways, without access to fresh air, natural light or green spaces. Edith and Marivic showed us their ‘houses’ – damp rooms without basic services where they have raised seven children between them. Yet, outside, were hanging rows of empty drinks cartons, pegged and drying. The discarded cartons had been collected, and then the women had purchased water – all water has to be purchased for a community of over 3000 people - to wash and to sort them, ready for them to be turned into various shapes of bags.

Helen is an Irishwoman who has been in the Philippines for 12 years. Before that she worked in the Archdiocese of Westminster – particularly Hanwell Parish - and several Catholic charities before deciding to go as a volunteer to the Philippines in 2002. Since 2006 has concentrated on developing WoW Bags - to enable women earn a fair income and provide for their families. WoW works in partnership with churches, schools and community groups in Britain who provide venues to sell the bags.

WoW Bags links poverty reduction with environmental activism and though this it provides regular income for poor women. WoW uses imagination, skill, lots of energy and good will, along with recycled plastic cartons, to address the serious challenges of poverty reduction and environmental protection. Along the way it also builds new relationships and models of how in very simple ways we can work together to improve our world.

The Philippines, like many other countries, is faced with the challenges of pollution and how to manage solid waste disposal, a poor infrastructure, and weak enforcement of environmental laws. These are all big problems, but WoW is playing its part in offering a solution. Plastic is a big problem in the Philippines, it is discarded everywhere and among the many forms of plastic which clog up rivers and drainage systems are brightly colored drinks cartons. These are cheap and easily available and are served at parties, meetings or put in lunch boxes. When many of them are finished they are just discarded on the spot.

In 2006 Helen and a group of eight women in Pampanga - a rural area around 50 miles from Manila which had its infrastructure severely damaged by the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in 1991 - saw them as a potential source of income. They began to collect and wash them and experimented making bags. They tried out many designs and shapes and learnt the hard way what worked and what didn’t. Over the years since then, roles and routines have become more formalised, with some of the group collecting, washing and sorting the cartons by size and color. Once this is done they are passed on to the sewers who transform them into wonderful bags made to the highest standards. These are then passed on for further quality control prior to starting their second life as a bag in another country. Each bag is handmade and the work is done in a way which allows each woman to manage her time, her output and her income. This small start has brought much needed income to unemployed women living in an area with few work opportunities available. In addition, all are the mothers and needing to be able to combine earning an income with the responsibilities of parenting. In 2009, Helen and the group began working with another eight women in the Malate parish of Manila.

The members of WoW have had little formal education and most are the main income providers within their households. For all it is the first time they have been able to benefit from their own talents and efforts and this has helped increase their confidence and sense of self worth. WoW works to fair trade principles and pays each member promptly. Each member is also part of a saving scheme which pays out at two key moments in the year – back to school time and Christmas time. This has enabled many to break ties with money lenders and also to have a little more control over their lives as they can plan what they want to do with their income. Some have added small extensions to their houses; one bought her first set of furniture – after 17 years of marriage; another got set of dentures 32 years after having her teeth removed; and another has visited her elderly parents in a far province for the first time in 15 years. Since 2006 no child of a member has dropped out of school and all eligible have gone on to high school

As well as providing an income for 16 families, WoW is working to raise ecological awareness. The bags are practical advertisements for recycling. The project works in ways that reflect its ecological message: there is zero waste, all the bags are designed with carton size and shape in mind so there is no waste involved in cutting or trimming. Paper and other items used in day to day tasks are recycled, public transport is used for deliveries and other WoW business. Production methods do not cause any damage nor add to pollution. Each year, close to 100,000 plastic cartons are recycled. The members of WoW, the women who collect, sort, sew and check also have a very small ecological footprint. They live and work locally, they use public transport, they eat locally produced food, they buy few consumer goods and they work in simple ways.

The bags I recently brought back as gifts were made by Mari, a sewer in Malate. Just seeing her name on each bag reminds me of her skill and what the project means for her and her family. Helen says, the project aims “to change lives one carton at a time” and this is slowly but surely happening. But the international links are vital. A network of volunteers in Britain and Ireland sell WoW bags to their family, friends, work colleagues, at churches, summer fairs and Christmas bazaars. This partnership creates new relationships and opportunities for people to become practically involved in working for justice.

Helen is constantly seeking more venues for selling the bags in the UK. A box of bags in various sizes can be sent to anyone interested. If you would like further information, to read one of the newsletters, see photos of the bag range, or help arrange a WoW sale in your area please contact Helen Mitchell in the Philippines at: recycledjuicepack@hotmail.com