At first glance it may seem like luxury furnishings and female empowerment have little in common - however an Australian charity has discovered this can be a match made in heaven! Thanks to a mix of ingenuity, dedication, love and respect, Carpets for Communities was born.
I discovered this inspiring enterprise by chance while visiting a fabulous EcoLiving Fair run by my local council. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to interview Anna Jolly, Volunteer Engagement Manager at Carpets for Communities, for Kindness by Design!
Q. What sparked the idea to form Carpets for Communities?
Our
Founding Director, David Bacon, was volunteering in Bangkok back in 2004, and
crossed the Thai/Cambodian border at Poipet (where CfC is based) every few
months to renew his visa. Each time, he was shocked by the level of poverty in
the region, and particularly disturbed by the numbers of children begging and
participating in child labour activities. Ultimately, Dave felt he couldn’t
leave without trying to help. After speaking with the community, he realized
the best way to get the kids back into school was by ensuring their families
had a stable, reliable income, so the kids no longer needed to beg/work to help
support their families.
After testing a few different models and ideas, the
idea for carpets was sparked based on the recyclable materials that could be
sourced in bulk in the area (cotton t-shirt offcuts from a local garment
factory and hessian rice bags).
Q. Can you tell us about your involvement with the Fair Trade
Association of Australia and New Zealand? Why is this important to you?
Our
registration with FTANZ is one of our fundamental organizational values, it is
extremely important to us. We uphold FTANZ values firstly by providing a
fair price for the participants in the project and safe working conditions. We
ensure the wages our mothers receive is enough to sustain their families in the
absence of any of their children participating in child labour activities. This
is a vital component in achieving our ultimate goal of educating children.
We are also
committed to environmentally sustainable production, and use 100% recycled
materials (t-shirt off-cuts and rice bags).
Q.
Which ethical designers are inspiring you right now?
We recently
developed a partnership with the design school of RMIT University in Melbourne
and were so inspired by their work. Check out their beautiful one of a kind
fair trade cushions here!
Q. What makes your carpets a great choice for
ethically-minded shoppers?
By
purchasing you’re really creating a ripple effect in the Poipet community. All
profits from sales go toward fair wages and also microloans which allow
families in the community to set up their own microenterprise. These
microenterprises allow the families to generate a stable income, meaning the
children are no longer required to help support their families financially and
can be returned to school.
We also direct profits from sales toward our Child Friendly Schools program where we work with school staff and the broader school
community to ensure that once we get the children back into school, they
receive a quality education in an engaging environment.
Q. Why did you decide to focus your efforts on women, and
mothers in particular?
Women’s
empowerment has proved to be a strong, and sustainable, solution to poverty
time and time again, and the intergenerational impacts of working with mothers
in particular are too impressive to ignore. When mothers bring the income into
the household, 90% of that income is invested into healthcare and education for
the entire family, meaning the kids’ wellbeing is lifted instantly. By
comparison, when men are the key breadwinner, just 30-40% of the income is
invested into these things. For both CfC and myself personally, we find it hard
to argue for a more effective, and sustainable, poverty eradication solution
than women’s empowerment.
Q. How can my readers become involved?
There are a number of ways! The easiest is of course to purchase a rug! Check them out online, as well as
at weekend markets throughout Australia.
Being an entirely volunteer-run organization in Australia, we are always
in need of more volunteers as well. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities,
including market stall volunteers, fundraiser event volunteers, retail
coordinators etc. Please email volunteer@carpetsforcommunities.org for
information.
Q. What does the future hold for Carpets for Communities?
2013 is shaping up to be a huge year for CfC! We are currently redeveloping our carpets, to make them more beautiful than ever, and are also working on a new range of products, which will hit the Australian market in the second half of the year. We hope for big sales, so we can expand our project to reach more mothers and children than ever before.
We are also creating a centralized work space for our mothers to work in, accompanied by a day care centre where their youngest children will be taken care of whilst they work. We will also be running a number of community projects out of the centre (for example, community English classes) so we can broaden our reach within the community.
