Clothing Collection, Recycling and Distribution Project in Nepal
Miteri Recycling Center is a social enterprise run by
Action Works Nepal. We collect, recycle and re-sell clothes to enable families
in the remote Karnali region to access good quality, sturdy and warm clothing.
As we grow, we aim to provide sustainable livelihoods for women who will work
in our community clothing shops.
·
If you belong to a group, school, college, company
or NGO and would like to organise an organization-wise collection for us, we
would be delighted to collect.
·
If you would like to donate funds to help cover the
transportation costs to Karnali and help the social enterprise expand, click
here: www.actionworksnepal.org
Code
of conduct: If you are
donating clothes, we request that you wash, iron and
fold the clothes before they come to us. It would also help if you could pack
the clothes in to separate bags for men’s, women’s and children’s
clothing.
The Need
Karnali is the high priority region by government, development actors, due to extreme poverty, intense ignorance, conflict affected, mountainous region, most remote. The National Standard Living Survey is also revealed that Karnali is in high risks by many ways.Caste and
gender discrimination in Karnali Zone is comparatively high resulting in lack
of access for women, Dalits and marginalized people to resources and
opportunities. There is a high need for livelihood development as well as
access to basics such as food, clean water and warm clothing for protection
against the cold weather.
The Solution
Action Works Nepal has been working in
communities across Karnali since 2001 with a particular focus on empowering
women through access to savings and credit groups and exploring economic
opportunities with poor and marginalized communities.
Since 2010, AWON initiated a pilot social
business collecting used clothes from Kathmandu to be recycled and resold
locally in Karnali by Miteri women’s groups. The clothes are washed, repaired, ironed,
labelled and packaged well to look like retail items rather than donations and
sold at a price that is affordable to the poorest consumers. This preserves the
dignity of the people buying the clothes and provides a sustainable income for
the women’s groups.
The Pilot
The project has been informally piloted by
Action Works Nepal (AWON) in 3 of the most remote districts within the Karnali
region – Kalikot, Humla and Jumla, targeting the poorest population. Clothing
was collected in Kathmandu and transported to the areas and sold by an AWON
volunteer.
Feedback from the pilots described people
queuing to buy the clothes and all items had sold out within the hour.
This experience shows that there is real
demand for access to quality, affordable clothing in remote, poor villages.
More communities across the region from Jumla, Kalikot, Humla and Accham are
now demanding this clothing retail service.
The Plan
The plan now is to formalise and scale up
the operations by establishing a centre in Kathmandu run by women to collect,
make good and package larger volumes of clothing for resale. Clothing will be
sourced from Kathmandu. Some will be resold in Kathmandu through a social
enterprise retail store to raise awareness about the project and serve as a
collection point.
Most of the clothing will be transported to
women’s groups in Karnali. A shop hub will be established in villages. The hubs
will also act as a multi-use community resource centre, an informal meeting
place for the credit and savings group and a place where others from the
village can sell their produce such as eggs, milk, bread etc. The hubs will
represent a safe space for the communities that have experienced recent
conflict during the civil war and will embody the Miteri spirit of living
together. The profits from the clothing business will sustain the hubs and any
surplus will be invested in the savings and loans group.
This model is scalable and can be
established in different districts across Karnali as well as other remote areas
in Nepal.
Impact
This model has several key impact metrics:
-
Number of women employed in
sustainable livelihoods
-
Increase in women’s annual
income
-
Tonnes of clothing recycled
rather than thrown as waste
In addition, women’s confidence and
empowerment will increase due to involvement in economic activity. The income
and security will have additional benefits to their families health, welfare
and education.
Team / organisation / partners
The Miteri Clothing business is run by
AWON. Action Works Nepal (AWON) is an NGO
embedded in the communities in Karnali with a deep insight and understanding
into local needs as well as credibility and relationships across the region. It
takes an integrated approach to rural transformation tackling women’s
empowerment, education support, livelihood improvement and humanitarian
assistance; for details www.actionworksnepal.org.
Action Works will manage and co-ordinate the social business.
RadhaPaudel
RadhaPaudel, the founder and president of
Action Works Nepal (AWON), has been described as “one of those people who just
makes things happen.” During the civil war she went to Karnali and established
a blood bank and a hospital for maternal surgery — the first in the entire region.
After the war, she founded AWON on the principle of action over lip service,
and assists primarily rural, poor and marginalized women to live dignified
lives in a country still recovering from the civil war. She has been internationally recognized by an
N-Peace Award 2012. Click for details:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqWYecI6PEE
and Women Peace Maker Award 2012, Click for details:http://www.sandiego.edu/peacestudies/institutes/ipj/programs/women_peace_makers/
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