It’s day 2 of Fairtrade Fortnight and we’d like to tell you a little bit more about Cycle of Good and how we came to be.
It started with bikes, lots of them. Tens of thousands of them! Containers full of second hand donated bicycles, sent from the UK to Chilomoni, Malawi over the last 10 years. Something as basic as owning a bike provides access employment, starting up business or to reach education or healthcare. Public transport can cost a whole months wage so getting bikes on the ground in Chilomoni has transformed the lives of many.
The donation of bikes continue to this day and you can help to fund the cost of shipping bikes by buying an Elephant Bike, which in turn donates one to Malawi.
Elephant Bike
So, what else helps? Jobs! Lots of those too, but much harder to come by than bikes. That’s when Cycle of Good was created. In short, from what started as a handful of tailors working from home on donated sewing machines has grown into a team of 31 working in purpose built facilities made by eco hydraform bricks, using sewing machines powered by the Malawian sun.
Our Fantastic Cycle of Good Tailoring Team!
We only use recycled materials, which would have otherwise gone to landfill, to make our wallets, bags and wide range of Cycle of Good products. Everything is sewn to last which is why we offer a lifetime guarantee!
The great news is that Cycle of Good Malawi, now produce a surplus from the tailored goods and this helps to fund the children’s centre in the heart of the social enterprise. Buying that inner tube wallet or coffee sack shopping bag and things that you actually need and use will continue to grow this team, save more waste from landfill and plough more money into education.
And once you receive that wallet, you won’t find one little bit of plastic! In 2019 we made the pledge to go completely plastic free by 2020. We ditched Sellotape, bubble wrap and switched to either recycled or recyclable packaging and that includes all of the packaging for our Elephant Bikes too!
Look out for day 3’s blog, we’re off to visit the warm heart of Africa!
