In a bid to champion sustainable waste management practices and foster women’s empowerment, a group of women in Samdrup Jongkhar’s Langchenphu Gewog have recently participated in zero waste craft training. During the training, they acquired skills in creating bags from discarded materials. This initiative is designed not only to impart valuable crafting abilities but also to tackle the urgent challenge of waste management within the community.
In the two-week training programme, 20 women were instructed in the art of crafting bags and baskets utilising plastic waste and PET bottles.
Prior to use, these discarded materials are collected from the local environment and thoroughly cleaned.
“It will be beneficial. We can collect waste and recycle it by making something out of it. We will be able to earn by selling the products. I will join if there are similar trainings in the future,” said Tandin Wangmo, a participant.
“This type of training will help to keep the surroundings clean. And if we sell the products, it will help us to earn some income,” said Khina Maya Sanyasi, another participant.
“I am doing it to reduce waste. It will also help us to earn some income,” said Dechen Wangmo, who also participated in the training.
The Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative will assist in marketing the products created by women.
The training programme was launched through collaboration between the Samdrup Jongkhar District Administration and the Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative, with financial support provided by the Department of Tourism under the Global Environment Facility Project.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
Edited by Tshering Zam
