Getting Crafty with Plastic Bags...

.

According to some estimates, between 500 billion and a trillion

plastic grocery bags are used globally each year..

There has been recently, in Europe, at least, a concerted effort by many individuals

and some foodstores to ban plastic bags.

Certainly an excellent move for the environment -

.

If, like me, you've well and truly kicked the plastic habit, chances are you may still

have a few floating around the place...

What better idea than to, either recycle these yourself, or, give them away

to help those a great deal less fortunate than ourselves,

particularly women with young children..?

My great friend, French fashion designer, Delphine Kohler

(see Mme Figaro press article)

runs a non-profit making association

les Filles du Facteur

(associated to NGOs in West Africa)

and one of their many, many activities is the recycling of plastic bags...

.

The income generated from the sale of products, both online and offline, is used

mainly for community educational projects both in the Paris

innercity suburbs and in * Burkina Faso...

.

Plastic bags can be deposited directly, or sent to:

(la Maison des Associations du 3ième arrondissement)

Filles du Facteur,

5 rue Perrée
75003 Paris

.

Clockwise from top: Bouquet of flowers in a vase, a penny purse,

floormats in black and multicoloured with flowered edging...

Portrait de Delphine Kohler,

à lire sur

lefigaro.fr madame

.

A djellabah crocheted from black plastic bags

.

Bathmat nearing completion

.

Balls of plastic bags cut into strips ready to crochet

.

Lady at work in Burkina Faso

.

Ladies at work in Paris

Pour tout savoir sur les Filles du Facteur, c'est
ici

Le premier Bidon

"Recycle le sac plastic"

est à la mairie du 3èm arrondissement de Paris (depuis le 9 février) pour

Les Filles du Facteur....

Les sacs récupérés sont découpés et crochetés par des femmes en difficulté

en banlieue parisienne et au Burkina Faso.

.

Elles fabriquent des objets en vente sur

ICI

.

envoyez ou déposez vos sacs plastique :
(la Maison des Associations du 3ième arrondissement)

Filles du Facteur,
5 rue Perrée

75003 Paris
.

merci de faire passer l'info
.

* Delphine is currently in West Africa, and, only last week, she visited the local orphanage

to donate money on behalf of the association to cover babyfood costs...

.

****Initiative génial au Niger :

Bâtir des routes avec des sacs plastiques: un autre exemple de recyclage

du "sachet" plastique au Niger, où Stéphane Blais

témoigne de la transformation au moindre cout du sac plastique

en pavé pour les routes..!

source de cette info.

Beyond Beauty...

.
Beads
play a very important role
in the social and culture lifestyle of Ghanaians,
when beads are used,
attention is paid to their shape, size, designs, colour and material....

.

.

Beads are not considered as mere decorative accessories.
The different shapes and colors
have specific meanings...
Some are worn for special occasions, others on a daily basis.
Beads convey social and cultural messages,
indicate status and symbolize the important milestones of a life.
.Photo :Google
.

all shapes and sizes
thick, thin, large, small
no matter...
any which way,
I simply ADORE them !
.
.
As children, my sisters, friends and I
would wear them around our waist,
necks, wrists and ankles
alone or in layers,
single or multicoloured...

..

In everyday life women, men and children wear beads;
they are visibly displayed
around the neck, wrist, *waist, ankles, arms, and on clothing...
..
How you can contribute to Fair Trade in Ghana
.

**Bead seller at the Koforidua Bead Market
.
Au Ghana les perles ne sont pas considérées comme de simples
accessoires d'ornement...
Les différentes formes et couleurs ont des significations spécifiques.
Certaines sont portées pour des occasions spéciales, d'autres quotidiennement.
Elles peuvent transmettre des messages, indiquer le statut,
ou symboliser les étapes importantes d'une vie....

Comment contribuer au développement durable au Ghana

~~~
.
*The wearing of beads by women around their waist is
a measure of beauty in most of West Africa.
Beads are worn from early infancy and all through adulthood.
They serve many purposes among which, it is believed,
the wearing of beads helps in the proper development of a woman’s figure..!
**Held on Thursdays, Africa’s largest wholesale bead market

is in the Ghanaian town of Koforidua..