PHILIPPINES: Women from a poor area in Manila learn to be entrepreneurs by turning the country's garbage into fashion

Record ID: 738119

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: Women from a poor area in Manila learn to be entrepreneurs by turning the country's garbage into fashion
  • Date: 8th March 2008
  • Summary: PEOPLE WALKING ON THE ROAD BY THE SIGN READING 'BARANGAY PAYATAS'
  • Embargoed: 23rd March 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: Fashion,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA5SGJN6E6RPX88P2OTAZ6PPBMG
  • Story Text: Who would've thought that rugs made of scrap cloth would end up in high-end fashion boutiques? Certainly not the women who made them. Since the 1990s, women from the community of Payatas, Manila's main garbage dump, have been making rugs as their source of livelihood.
    The women would wait patiently for textile companies to dump scrap cloth at the garbage site.
    They would then take what they could and weave it together into a rug called 'rumble' because of the different coloured cloths used to make it.
    The women earned 1 peso ($0.02 U.S. dollars) for each sale made to middlemen who would in turn rake in 25 times that amount.
    In July 2007, a group of young professionals formed Rags2Riches, an enterprise designed to help the women by training them to become entrepreneurs.
    Rags2Riches cut out the middlemen and taught the women how to improve their design and produce high-quality products. So from technicoloured rugs, the women produced plain-coloured, high-quality rugs using the 'Rags2Riches' brand, and are now selling them for 50 pesos each.
    Ana Alipaw, a mother of four, appreciates that she can make a living while still taking care of her children. She believes that Rags2Riches has changed the lives of the mothers of Payatas.
    "We're not only homemakers who wash clothes, clean and cook, right? We may be simple mothers, but we have a source of livelihood and we are talented," said Alipaw.
    The socio-political organisation Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan played a major role in helping the women. Their Executive Director, Brother Xavier Alpasa, served as the link between the women of Payatas and Rags2Riches. He's been working with the Payatas community for years and encouraged the women to take on this challenge.
    "It's very empowering in terms of uplifting their (women's) self-esteem which they truly deserve, uplifting their dignity, giving them recognition. Not only them but even Payatas," said Alpasa.
    In October 2007, Rags2Riches partnered with multi-awarded local fashion designer Rajo Laurel. Laurel made 11 designs -- including bags, clutches, a beach tote and a yoga mat case -- for the first limited-edition collection under the label RIIR.
    For most of the women, this is more than a dream come true. They never imagined that the simple rugs they used to make products would be carried by models and bought by fashionistas and local stars alike. Laurel feels strongly about changing the lives of these women.
    "What I give them is not only the opportunity to improve their lives, but the opportunity to change the way they see themselves. I mean, a lot of these women consider, a lot of these women consider themselves as victims - and I think it's about time we change that," said Laurel.
    In just seven months, the group of 30 mothers got a return on their investment.
    "We thought it wasn't possible, but as it turned out, it was. Our main concern has always been the customers, the clients; but now, it's certain. We don't need to look anymore, we don't need to try and sell on the streets," said Cynthia Cabrera, head of the mothers of Payatas.
    Cabrera is also a member of the Rags2Riches Management Committee and works closely with them towards the goal of creating a cooperative for the women. They are being trained to run the enterprise on their own, with hopes of exporting the product in the future.
    Through Rags2Riches these women have been able to find a sustainable source of income while keeping to their duties as wives and mothers. They've made considerable contributions to their families, with some even responsible for sending their children to school.
    Laurel will be working with the women of Payatas on a new RIIR collection for 2008.
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