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PROJECTS
The Invest in Dignity® Foundation exists to alleviate poverty, create sustainable jobs, protect the environment and nurture aspirations in disadvantaged communities.
The foundation’s activities are anchored in the following three projects, which it is scaling up for further impact
1. Community education
2. Skills training
3. Small business support
Empowerment must be accompanied by education to make a holistic and lasting impact on communities. Through the Invest in Dignity® Foundation we strive to educate South Africans about the benefits of recycling and how small behavioural changes can yield major benefits for the environment. Our primary focus is on the communities in and around eThekwini (Durban) in the coastal province of KwaZulu- Natal, but the “green” message is also spread to all South African consumers through:
● Community activations
● Neighbourhood clean-ups
● The Supa Mama recycling app, which provides handy tips for households, such as how and where to recycle
● Free-standing display units in retail stores stocking Supa Mama products
Community education
Why? Because every step made to raise awareness – of the importance of recycling, cleaning up litter in neighbourhoods and reducing people’s carbon footprints, creates a cleaner, greener, healthier society.
The more waste we can divert from landfills, the better. We believe that if communities can unite and band together to beautify their neighbourhoods and take pride in their surroundings, the seeds of a better society can be sown!
Skills Training
Giving someone the knowledge, tools and skills to earn a living is so much more effective and enduring than giving them a handout. The Invest in Dignity® Foundation is all about empowering women in KwaZulu-Natal to break the cycle of poverty and government dependency and earn a dignified and decent income.
With South Africa’s unemployment rate constantly hovering above 30%, we need to band together and innovate to create jobs. And where better than the burgeoning green economy, with its massive potential for growth? To this end, the Invest in Dignity® Foundation runs two flagship programmes:
Women in Recycling
The plastic waste is then recycled into the raw material that is used to make drawstring refuse bags.
We have trained unemployed women to collect, sort and grade plastic waste, PET, and cans from marketplaces and similar sites. The Mamas are paid a higher rate than what they would be paid at other recycling facilities for this clean waste.
Women in Fashion
Women who show an aptitude for needlework are trained to create reusable fabric shoppers from recycled material – each strong, durable shopping bag is made from two plastic bottles. They are also being trained to stitch patterned kitchenware products with a vibrant African flavour, tapping into their creative flair in addition to their artisanal crafting skills. All of the sustainable products sewn by these women are sold through our retail partners, thereby creating access to the consumer market while providing them with needlework skills and sewing machines to earn a living.
Together, these two programmes are aimed at empowering women to forge careers in the recycling industry and also to establish their own thriving micro- enterprises as entrepreneurs in the circular economy. Furthermore, since many women lack basic financial literacy skills – holding them back in all spheres of life – they are also trained on using an ATM, opening a bank account,basics of managing a small business and so on. By embracing their new roles as self-sustaining micro-entrepreneurs, they are emerging as role models in their communities.
We are proud of our Mamas who are forging their own close-knit communities of crafters and recyclers – our own sisterhood of savvy plastic waste managers, leading by example!
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Small businesses are the engine room of any economy, and the Invest in Dignity® Foundation is passionate about supporting women to become significant players in the circular economy.
To this end, we support up-and-coming recycling entrepreneurs with the resources to create and grow their own small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) and, in turn, create jobs for others.
We empower these “waste-preneurs” to establish their recycling businesses by providing them with the necessary scales, containers, trolleys, large baler bags and personal protective equipment.
This then enables them to safely and hygienically embark on the process of collecting, sorting and grading plastic solid waste for recycling.
They sell this plastic waste to Verigreen at a premium rate, and it is then recycled into material used to produce brand-new drawstring refuse bags.
This process of nurturing small enterprises fulfils so many purposes – it enables the Mamas to set up their own businesses and earn a living, it diverts plastic waste from landfills, and it enables Verigreen® to achieve its corporate social responsibility, active citizenship and circular economy goals. Critically, the Invest in Dignity® Foundation aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a shared blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all nations.
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