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HAITI / RARA BAGS
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STORY: HAITI / RARA BAGS
TRT: 3:05
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / CREOLE / NATS
DATELINE: 4 MARCH 2009, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
1. Close up, candy wrappers
2. Med shot, two women and sewing machines
3. Close up, woman sewing on a machine
4. Zoom out, pile of plastic garbage (wrappers)
5. Med shot, woman working with fabric
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Kevin Lynn McCarthy, Founder, Rara Bags Company:
“I always thought that all the garbage in Haiti could be actually made into something useful.”
7. Pan, plastic garbage
8. Med shot, woman washing some wrappers
9. Med shot, woman washing wrappers in a sink
10. Close up, woman weaving strips of plastic wrappers
11. Wide shot, woman weaving
12. Close up, woman sewing pieces
13. Med shot, semi-finished pieces of fabric
14. Med shot, semi-finished pieces of fabric
15. Close up, face of a young woman sewing
16. Med shot, bottom of a sewing machine
17. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Mirlene Joseph, Assistant Manager:
“Everyone gets paid for the piece of work they do. If you bring us plastic trash, or if you sew the trash into patches, or bring us a finished bag, we pay you.”
18. Med shot, woman picking up semi-finished pieces
19. Med shot, woman sewing
20. Med shot, woman weaving
21. Pan, finished bags
22. SOUNDBITE (French) Kevin Lynn McCarthy, Founder, Rara Bags Company:
“So this is a finished bag. And you can still see the potato chip brand (Lays) on the front. On the back is maybe M&Ms or some cookie. The cloth on the inside is just different patterns taken from old clothes. It’s all just a big creole mix – like the culture of this country.”
23. Close up, front of a bag
24. Med shot, bags on a table
25. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Mirlene Joseph, Assistant Manager:
“Not only is it a nice product, but we recently had a US Senator visit us. He bought some bags and gave them to Obama’s daughters. And now they are using them.”
26. Med shot, scraps of plastic
27. Close up, detail on a red bag
28. Med shot, bags on the table
Rags can lead to riches – at least according to one group of women in Port-au-Prince. Their company, “Rara Bags” is making handbags out of the types of materials that other people have thrown away.
And the amazing part is, they are making a profit.
American Kevin McCarthy started the project last year with a capital investment of just $5,000.
SOUNDBITE (French) Kevin Lynn McCarthy, Founder, Rara Bags Company:
“I always thought that all the garbage in Haiti could be actually made into something useful.”
The process starts by paying people a penny a piece to collect colorful plastic trash from the street. Each one gets thoroughly washed with soap and with bleach, and then sorted by color. Next, the plastic is cut into strips, and woven together, to make an interesting multi-color design.
The company’s goal is to recycle waste materials, while creating employment in Haiti – a country where the jobless rate tops 80 percent.
These finished pieces of fabric were made by five groups of women around the city – more than 30 people. They are trained in the process for free, and get paid to help the company produce about 200 bags per month.
Mirlene Joseph helped start the company, and she now trains community women’s groups to sew. She’s optimistic that the company will grow, and create more jobs – however small.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Mirlene Joseph, Assistant Manager:
“Everyone gets paid for the piece of work they do. If you bring us plastic trash, or if you sew the trash into patches, or bring us a finished bag, we pay you.”
McCarthy uses the internet to market the bags overseas. In the last six months, production has increased five times. Today the women are busy trying to fill an order for 800 bags.
The finished product looks nothing like the garbage it started out as.
SOUNDBITE (French) Kevin Lynn McCarthy, Founder, Rara Bags Company:
“So this is a finished bag. And you can still see the potato chip brand (Lays) on the front. On the back is maybe M&Ms or some cookie. The cloth on the inside is just different patterns taken from old clothes. It’s all just a big creole mix – like the culture of this country.”
The big question is, is there a sustainable market for this strange type of purse? Mirlene Joseph certainly thinks so.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Mirlene Joseph, Assistant Manager:
“Not only is it a nice product, but we recently had a US Senator visit us. He bought some bags and gave them to Obama’s daughters. And now they are using them.”
As this little company grows and creates more jobs, they also clean up the neighborhood. So in Haiti, one person’s garbage can really be another person’s treasure.
