Papyrus Reeds, Our Future Hope
Papyrus Reeds, Our Future Hope is a sustainable enterprise that harvests and processes papyrus reeds and crafts them into high-quality products including baskets, purses, and furniture. The reed waste is used as natural manure. The business educates community member4s in the use of locally-available materials (papyrus reeds) to address their social and economic challenges while conserving the environment at the same time. Growing conditions for papyrus reeds are maintained by planting tree seedlings and the production waste is reused as manure. Revenues from the sale of papyrus products go back into the community and are used to provide training in tree nursery management and entrepreneurship.
- Creating over 100 job opportunities within one year.
- Providing entrepreneurial skills training to youth, rural women/disadvantaged groups.
- Protecting local culture (weaving) and strengthen community engagement.
- Protecting the ecosystem through the supply of tree seedling to homes, and the planting of 10,00 tree seedlings annually.
- Providing training and educating the general public about the impact of establishing tree nurseries.
- Providing alternative cheap and environmentally-friendly products for residents or the local communities.
- Creating stable sources of income for individuals while generating community funding.
- Increasing labour productivity and investments in environmental research and development, training of employees and community education.
Partners
Pamoja Women’s Group: Product exhibition, design and monitoring of the product sales and trends.
Rural Disaster Response Programme: Research, entrepreneurship training and environmental conservation education for the initiative.
Zactech ICT Communication Enterprise: Develops marketing and communication strategies, and advertising for the initiative.