Over the last
four years we have been studying Africa, trying to find solutions to their extreme poverty. As our
passion for Africa grew we decided we desperately wanted to do something to help. We researched charitable organizations
and couldn't find anything that was a perfect fit for us.
So at the beginning of the year we decided to
create our own non-profit organization. On January 28th, 2007 Africa Bags officially came into existence.
In May of 2007, we made our first trip to Malawi. Upon arrival we met with village leaders and decided to introduce our project into three villages near Mzuzu,
Malawi. We entered into the villages of Kamweko, Viweme, and Nkhata Bay and introduced the production of reusable cloth shopping bags. The villages were provided with foot powered treadle
sewing machines, cloth and all other items needed to make the bags. We trained small groups from each village to operate
the treadle sewing machines.
Shortly after
we left, a small group of people broke off from our Nkhata Bay group and formed our fourth group in Chintheche.
Our initial sales have stemmed
from a grassroots campaign. We have contacted our friends and family asking them to spread the word about our project.
As production of the villages has increased we have decided to pursue retail avenues of selling Africa Bags.
We are currently looking for retail stores that would be interested in selling our bags. We would love any help
from others with experience in retail sales or those with connections to retail stores.
