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 Residents of Paraisópolis (Paradise City), the second largest favela (shantytown) in the city of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, are changing their lives with project Recicla Jeans (Recycle Jeans). The program generates jobs and income for 30 women in the community.
They design and produce clothes and accessories by recycling jeans and patches of fabric donated to the project. "My objective is to have other work cells within the community, generating further work opportunities," stated the founder of the project, Nadia Rubio Bacchi. Recicla Jeans, established three years ago, is one of the programs developed by NGO Florescer (Blossom in Portuguese), started by Nadia 16 years ago. The idea of developing the project worked out so well that the clothes and accessories produced by the seamstresses and embroiderers from Paraisópolis have already even been exported to Lebanon, Portugal, Spain and Italy. "We have a very great chance on the foreign market. But we have a long way ahead," said Nadia, referring to the lack of professionals adequate for foreign trade at the NGO. "We need someone who speaks other languages and can make contact with clients abroad," she added. Last year, Nadia participated in the International Fashion Week in Madrid, Spain, where she made many contacts, including with Lebanese businessman Bamode Sarl, from garment producer Lorraine Haddad. A total of 129 items were shipped to the Arab country, among them skirts, tops and trousers. "We ship well worked clothes, full of embroidery. All embroidered by hand," stated Nadia. However, the contact was lost. "It is a pity," she said. The NGO's workshop, built in partnership with the São Paulo city hall and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), produces around 1,000 items a month, among them trousers, jerseys, jackets, skirts, handbags and belts. "We want to increase this production," stated Nadia. According to her, the main raw material is jeans, but off-cuts of linen, silk and leather are also used to increment the product. "Recycling jeans is worth it as the material has a very long lifespan," guaranteed Nadia. According to her, the main supplier of inputs for the project is company Covolan Jeanswear, a producer of jeans. The company donates 300 kilograms of jeans per month. Other companies also help the NGO when possible. The program also counts on "distant volunteers", who are people outside the community who donate material. "Inputs are not lacking," stated Nadia. With the quality of the fabric that the workshop receives, it has already been possible to create a line of clothes for girls. Initially the workshop only produced clothes for adult women. "In the future we also consider working with male fashion," added Nadia. The project clothes also have labels with trademark "Recicla Jeans" and their own brand. "We export the brand," stated Nadia. Behind the labels is an explanation about the work of the NGO. Another conquest of the project was the donation of a space in the shopping mall Shopping D, in São Paulo, where the NGO has a shop. Currently, the project also has a shop in Vila Madalena neighborhood, in the city of São Paulo, where they sell clothes and accessories. "The idea is to open new stores in different shopping malls," stated Nadia. To work in the "Recicla Jeans" workshop it is necessary to be over 18 years old. According to Nadia, with the income that the women earn in the workshop, they can provide a better quality of life for their families. In the case of children and adolescents in the community, NGO Florescer offers activities like English, dance, football, art and theatre lessons, among others. The NGO assists 300 children in Paraisópolis. At the beginning of the project with the UNESCO and the city hall, "Recicla Jeans" included 40 youths who received funds from the São Paulo city hall and took a 10-month course to learn sewing techniques. "When the partnership ended I had to sort myself out," explained Nadia. A businesswoman with great experience in fashion, Nadia established the Nadia R. Bacchi Association, a non-profit organization whose objective is to create activities for impoverished communities, mainly for children and youths. Paraisópolis has a population of around 70,000 inhabitants, of which 30% are children between the ages of 0 and 14, according to figures on the web page of NGO Florescer. Promotion in the media of the work developed by the NGO is executed by Nadia's daughter, Karina Bacchi, a model and actress who has already acted in many soap operas produced by Globo TV network. A Dream Maria Aldenira de Sena, 40 years old, who has been married for 14 years, is one of the women from Paraisópolis who is involved in the project. She started working as a seamstress in the Recicla Jeans workshop two years ago and is now the coordinator of embroiderers. "Before coming here I used do develop manual work at my house, selling it," she said, adding that she works in the workshop from 8 am to 5 pm. Aldenira was born in the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraíba and came to São Paulo 14 years ago. Living in Paraisópolis with her husband for the last four years, she sends most of her 500 reais salary to her mother, who is sick in Paraíba. "When I started here I earned one minimum wage. Now I am earning a lot more. I am growing (in the company) more and more. I am very much appreciated here," she said. She has been working in the project since it started, but at the time she was already experienced in sewing and embroidering. "I never thought that my work would receive such recognition one day. I love my work," she stated. Apart from helping her mother, with her salary, Aldenira can pay the bills and "buy some things" for herself. "Nowadays I even pinch myself to make sure that this is not a dream," she added. Contact NGO Florescer
Tel: (+55 11) 3746-9846
Site: www.ongflorescer.com.br Anba - www.anba.com.br
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