 SHAHANI SINGH |
Another addition to the vibrant Mandala Street of Thamel is the shop Recycling for Goodness, stocked with intriguing products crafted from recycled plastic, cloth, rubber and paper. A plethora of items are available here, including sturdy plastic-woven stools, baskets and cushions, funky plastic belts, Christmas decorations, shopping bags, coasters, and iPod holders.
The shop is the retail outlet of Himalayan HealthCare (HHC), which opened 29 September. HHC is funded by and collaborates with the Spiral Foundation Centre (US). HHC products are also exported, and clearly a market has been established among global celebrities, whose endorsements are in evidence throughout the shop. The funds and revenue from sales go into supporting health care and education in Tipling, Shertung and Lhapa VDCs in northern Dhading, and creating income-generating opportunities for women there, such as weaving these products.
"Our approach is tri-pronged because we believe that education, health care and income generation are interdependent," says Sonie KC Parajuli, Senior Executive Officer of HHC. "Though income generation is a first priority, we prefer the recipients in our program to be educated so that they are able to take care of their health as well as participate in our vocational programs. Thus we have incentives – those who participate in our literacy programs get bonus income-generating opportunities."
About 1,000 artisans benefit from such vocations. A plastic-woven stool, which takes a day and a half to make, earns its maker Rs 400. With their monthly earnings, artisans contribute 10 per cent to a credit savings scheme that functions as a revolving fund for loans in the VDC. Artisans from HHC are very much in demand and some of them have even gone to the Gulf to practice their vocation.
Raw materials for HHC products include junk food wrappers collected from Kathmandu's movie halls and streets, and rubber from old tires in garages. Says Parajuli: "We have made arrangements with Guna cinema hall and Jai Nepal to let us collect the trash and buy from independent garbage collectors as well.
After collecting, we sort out the garbage, clean it and send it to our workshops in the city and in Dhading."
Items at Recycling for Goodness come at a 50-75 per cent premium, but they are of excellent quality. Himalayan Healthcare has been working as a social entrepreneur for 18 years, now you can be a part of their initiative.
