Cash and carry

African-made cloth bags are economic benefit for villagers while keeping plastic shopping bags out of US landfills

Four years ago, Todd Petitt first learned about the Rwandan genocide from a documentary.

“It really bothered me that I hadn’t know about it when it was happening,” he said.

But once he learned about the tragedy, which occurred in 1994, he couldn’t forget it.

He and his wife began studying Africa, which sparked an overwhelming urge to help poverty stricken countries. They wanted do more than just discuss the issues, which “is so easy to do,” Todd said.

They couldn’t find an established nonprofit that fit their needs, so they created their own nonprofit called Africa Bags in January 2007. The organization employs citizens of Malawi to create reusable, cloth shopping bags which are sold in the United States.

The benefits of the project are twofold. It provides sustainable, economic opportunity for Malawi and helps eliminate plastic waste in the United States. On average, the United States uses 100 billion bags annually, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“We wanted to do something that had a use, other than jewelry, and that helped the environment,” Holly said.

Malawi

The Petitts were interested in working in Rwanda or Sudan, but they decided on a more stable country where most of the population speaks English. Malawi was suggested to them by family friends Helen and Marty Wilson of Loveland.

The Wilsons have been volunteering in Malawi with Marion Medical Mission for four years. The mission is a nonprofit that installs shallow wells to provide drinking water. The Wilsons recommended Malawi to the Petitts, because they know it is a nation that needs economic opportunity.

“Malawi is in a difficult circumstance, because they have very few natural resources and a high population density,” Marty said. “There is very little tourism. They haven’t had the money to develop game parks like Tanzania or Botswana.”

Malawi is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania and has 13.6 million people. The median age of citizens is 16.7, the average life expectancy is 43 years, and AIDS affects 14.2 percent of the population, according to the CIA World Fact Book.

“The villages are absolutely elementary,” Helen said. “They just live in a very small room, with usually just a dirt floor. When we say they have nothing, they have nothing. What Holly and Todd have done for them is just enormous.”

The average person lives on 50 cents a day, according to the Petitts.

Getting Started

The Petitts traveled to Malawi on a 10-day trip to set up their project in May 2007.

“It was nerve-racking,” Holly said. “We had never been there, and we didn’t know anyone. What could take a day here could take one to weeks there.”

The Wilsons put the Petitts in contact with the McGills, missionaries in Malawi, who gave them a place to stay and helped them make contacts.

By 7 a.m. on the Pettits’ first day, representatives of the tribes that would be making the Africa Bags were already waiting to talk to them.

“They were ecstatic,” Holly said.

Africa Bags are made in the villages of Kamweko, Viweme, Nkhata Bay and Chintheche. The village chiefs oversee the employment of Africa Bags.

For supplies, the Petitts purchased cotton cloth at the one remaining textile mill in Malawi. They also they bought Singer treadle sewing machines, because the villages have no electricity. The sewing machines had to be balanced on top of a bus to transport them from Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, to the villages.

Once the supplies were purchased, the Petitts went into each village and trained them to use the supplies, which was a long process.

“It took half an hour to teach them how to use the measuring tapes,” said Todd, who explained that they tried to measure cloth diagonally.

“They were so proud and meticulous about the project,” Holly said.

Todd returned to Africa in July 2007 to make sure the operations were running smoothly. While there, he was surprised at the rate of progress, which was a big relief.

“They are making the bags so fast,” Todd said.

In July, he also got to see the first stages of production of a 1,000-square-foot community center that will go up in Kamweko, funded by Africa Bags supporters. The chief of Kamweko donated the space, and the citizens are building all the bricks by hand.

Finished Product

For each bag that is sewn, the workers are paid $1 up front, and they are paid the remaining profit after the bag is purchased, minus shipping costs, which are the biggest challenge in the operation.

“We want to make sure we give 100 percent of it back to the people who need it most,” Holly said. “We’re not in it to make money, but to help people.

The Petitts estimate that they have spent $15,000 out-of-pocket to start the nonprofit.

Africa Bags are on sale at the Wilson’s church, Mountain View Presbyterian, and at Diana’s Drop-off Laundry in Loveland, which is owned by Holly’s aunt, Diana Schmick.

Schmick supports Africa Bags because “It’s a nonprofit that is helping people help themselves. It’s one way of giving and getting back at the same time.”

The Petitts have also begun to sell woodcarvings, art and jewelry from artisans in Malawi.

Lasting Effects

Most Malawians are subsistence farmers, so some of the profits will be used to purchase fertilizer.

Also, some money will be put towards mosquito nets to protect people from illnesses.

When the Malawians are paid, the Petitts have been amazed at their spirit of sharing.

“If they get money, they are helping each other,” Todd said.

“There is always a pressing need that is more important than a personal need,” Holly added.

The Petitts hope that the spirit behind the project is passing on to their own children.

“It’s teaching them an invaluable lesson to help others,” Holly said. “What we spend on a $5 Starbucks would feed someone there for a week.”