The resting area for tourists visiting the cooperative (Ms. Huong in red shirt) is also made from recycled materials.
Women who are not afraid of hardship
In the tourist city of Ha Long in particular and Quang Ninh province in general, many women are no longer unfamiliar with shopping bags made from recycled banners or drinking tables and chairs made from tires, decorated with used bottles. That is the unbelievable result that Green Life Cooperative has achieved in the past 5 years even though it only has 9 female members.
Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong said that the cooperative was established in December 2019 in Ha Khau ward with an initial capital of 500 million VND, with her as the director, at that time she was 46 years old.
"I used to be a tailor, but thanks to participating in local women's work, I have access to many unique waste recycling models that help limit the amount of waste discharged into the environment. In Ha Long, a tourist city, the demand for banners is very high. After events, they are often thrown away, creating a huge amount of waste.
We realized that if we could recycle banners, it would be great, and at the same time create more livelihoods for women, that is the reason why the cooperative was born with the help of the Green Hub Green Development Support Center," said Ms. Huong.
In addition to her existing sewing skills and knowledge accumulated through her participation in women's union work, Ms. Huong also had to go online to learn more and create unique recycled items.
From there, she and her sisters taught each other to create new designs of shopping bags, school bags for students, lunch bags, wallets, carpets, etc. Even the walls of the production area and the exhibition area of the cooperative are recycled from broken bricks, and the window glass is made from glass from discarded cruise ships.
The products are not only decorated and sold at the cooperative’s workshop but also included in the circular chain of goods. Accordingly, the cooperative will distribute them to women and exchange them for recyclable waste. The colorful, durable shopping bags of housewives have replaced dozens of plastic bags and plastic boxes every day, helping Ha Long City significantly reduce the pressure of household waste.
Ms. Huong said that Green Life Cooperative has so far produced about 100,000 recycled products from waste, about 30 tons of banners, 10 tons of leftover fabric, thousands of bottles and hundreds of tires of all kinds. The Cooperative has also created regular jobs for 9 women and dozens of women working indirectly with an income of 4-6.5 million VND/month, with an estimated revenue of 1.5 billion VND/year.
"Transporting and washing raw materials is quite difficult for weak women, but we are determined to do our best. We have also partnered with some advertising companies to have a stable source of raw materials for production," said Ms. Huong.
Tailors who love to create and protect the environment
"Garbage" experiential tourism model
Although it is called a factory, the cooperative is very neat and tidy. Ms. Huong divided it into 3 areas: production area, product display area and resting area for tourists to visit. Right at the resting area, tables and chairs are made from recycled tires, making tourists feel very excited to explore.
From May 2022, the cooperative will start welcoming tourists as well as groups of students from the province to visit, experience and spread the green lifestyle.
Ms. Huong said: "At first, we did not think that tourists would be so interested in visiting, especially foreign tour groups. Each tourist buys a ticket to visit for 10,000 VND, which is also a source of income to pay the salaries of the women. Up to now, the cooperative has welcomed about 15,000 visitors."
Recycled backpacks for students
Ms. Susan, a Swiss tourist, shared: "I was very surprised when visiting the cooperative, the items were very eye-catching, easy to use and especially recycled from waste. I will buy a few things as gifts, this will be an unforgettable impression for me when visiting the beautiful country of Vietnam".
Another target group that the cooperative targets is primary school students. The cooperative regularly welcomes and organizes seminars, talks, and talks with students to share and guide them on recycling, planting trees, or drawing activities. The gifts given to the children are cute, well-fitting, recycled school bags for them to take to school.
"We proactively cooperate with travel companies and schools to welcome tourists and students, so our schedule is almost full during the month. It is estimated that the cooperative welcomes over 1,000 visitors each month. At the same time, the cooperative coordinates with schools and residential groups in the area to implement a program to exchange recycled waste for gifts...", Ms. Huong shared.
A plant pot product made from plastic waste
In particular, the garden is decorated colorfully with lots of trees to serve the students' experiential activities. Ms. Huong also regularly coordinates with women's associations at all levels to participate in sorting waste from the source, organizing events to exchange waste for gifts, and planting trees in the area.
Chairwoman of the Ha Khau Ward Women's Union Luong Thi Minh Thuong said: "With the motto "Used items not used - We recycle together" and "Unsorted waste is just waste, sorted waste is a resource", in recent years, the cooperative has helped limit the amount of waste discharged into the environment, contributing to spreading a green lifestyle in Ha Long City. We will create conditions and make efforts to replicate this model in women's branches and residential groups in the coming time".
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuoc-thi-tai-tao-xanh-hop-tac-xa-bien-rac-thanh-san-pham-du-lich-20240622220412673.htm
Comment (0)