QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA – Zeny Luna, a housewife and resident of Batasan Hills, used to have problems on how

to earn money for her family until three years ago when she learned how to make eco-friendly bags out of old
newspapers.

Zeny is a member of of Husay Pinay, a foundation started by Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte to promote women
empowerment and entrepreneurship among housewives.

To make the bags, Zeny says that old newspapers or even sample ballots used in the May national elections were folded
to about a centimeter in width to become wefts or similar to buri or pandan used in making native bags or banig. After
making the strips of paper, Zeny starts to weave the paper strips by hand and through the use of glue for connecting the
strips.

A local newspaper supplies most of the old newspapers used for the bags. Since the foundation started in 2007, the
membership of the group has grown to over 100 housewives of Batasan Hills.

“Malaking tulong po ito lalo na at nabibigyan ng kabuhayan yung mga nanay sa amin, pantulong na rin sa panggastos sa
bahay. Kesa sa walang ginagawa o kaya nagtsi-chismisan sa mga kapitbahay, nagawa kami ng mga bags at kumikita pa
kami (This is a big help for housewives and mothers like me in Batasan Hills because it gives as extra income for our
households. Instead of spending our idle time at home talking to neighbors, we were able to earn money by making this
bags),” Zeny says.

The bag designs vary from ladies’ bags to hand-carry laptop bags that sell from P100 to P150 since most of the overhead
costs comes from the manual labor in making the bags. Other raw materials used include glue and paper twine or cloth for
bag handles.

“Mababa lang po talaga yung presyo ng mga bag kasi mura din naman ang paggawa, ang pinakapuhunan namin ay yung
labor kasi nakukuha naman namin ng libre yung papel (We sell the bags since the raw material is not capital intensive and
we get the papers and old magazines for free).”

Bestsellers among students of nearby University of the Philippines include the laptop bags made of brown paper bags
used by bakeries for selling pandesal. Students buy the laptop bags because it offers them security and prevents prying
eyes from suspecting that they are carrying laptops.

The paper material is laminated but does not use synthetic paint for “health reasons,” she says

“Mabenta ito sa amin (This is one of our bestsellers),” pointing to laptop bag made of recycled paper, “kasi sabi ng mga
taga-UP hindi daw halata ng mga hindi magandang-loob na may dala silang laptop (according to UP students, it does not
appear like your typical laptop bag so snatchers would think otherwise).”

Zeny adds that while the laptop bags are not waterproof, they can still be used after it dries up.

“Sana maraming Pilipino yung tumangkilik pa sa mga gawang-Pinoy na tulad nito kasi hindi lang ito nagbibigay
ngkabuhayan sa mga tulad kong mother, nakakabawas pa tayo sa basura (I hope that more Filipinos will be able to
patronize products like this because it gives livelihood to mothers like me and it helps the environment by reducing
garbage),” she adds.

Husay Pinay Foundation can be contacted via coordinator Adela Gaton at (02) 442-4620 and 0919-2036471.

Share
EBU CITY, Philippines - A newspaper’s worth often ends after its contents are read.

Some people cut certain portions to keep as “clippings,” but most of the sheets that make up the daily newspaper go to waste baskets.

For Christ-centered Family Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit Christian organization, these sheets can be woven to become
newspaper bags in different sizes, colors and designs.

With 15 individuals working in their respective homes, the organization can make an average of 20 to 30 bags every week. These are
often bought by well-to-do women in Cebu.

Twice every year, a Dutch buyer orders between 20 and 70 bags requested by people in The Netherlands, who saw and appreciated the
hard work in making the high-quality bags.

“We feel very honored when we see the bags being used by these people. It’s a craft that requires patience. Hard work is really put into
it,” said Eva Diego, production-in-charge and wife of the foundation’s pastor Leo.

Eva said most of the assembly line workers are skilled mothers, whose husbands are pedicab drivers or construction workers. These
mothers come from barangays (villages) in Cebu, Mandaue and Consolacion.

Papers to bags

Eva said everything started in November 2006, barely a month after she attended a seminar on how to make newspaper bags with 62
participants coming from different provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The seminar participants were trained for six days by Lulu Ocampo, who is also known for making baskets out of newspapers.

The process in making hand-made newspapers bags is not easy, said Eva.

First, newspaper sheets should be segregated based on colors. The colors on the newspapers serve as the original color of the bags.

Second, the papers are made into bilots. These are made by rolling sheets of papers with a stick to make strands. The strands are then
woven into different kinds of bags such as knapsack, tote and canvass.

All bags are laminated using a “special material” so it will not be easily destroyed by water.

Because of the painstaking labor people employed in making one bag, Eva admitted she had second thoughts to pursue bag-making as a
livelihood project.

Knowing the project solves waste problems and helps people earn a living however inspired Eva to train people from barangay after
barangay for them to learn the craft.

“We’ve always wanted to start a livelihood project, which will really help low-income families. We do not want to give dole outs because
that’s only a one-shot-deal. We want to teach people to fish,” said Pastor Leo.

With a rolling capital of P50,000 from the foundation, the couple started the project.

The money was used to buy materials such as glue and paper twine and to pay workers’ labor.

The newspapers are donated by church members. The most active of them is Rosario “Rovi” Marques, co-owner of a practical nursing
school in Cebu.

Marques calls up friends to donate their newspapers to the church.

“It was Rovi who told me to start making bags or else it will die,” said Eva.

The foundation has a system to ensure that bags are made with the highest standard of quality possible.

Mothers are assigned to specific tasks—one group makes the bilots, others do the weaving while another group puts on the bags’
handles.

For every 100 bilots, mothers are given P10. Other workers are given a specific amount based on the finished jobs.

Weavers are also given P50 to P60 for every bag they weave depending on the size.

Lamination is done in the church area, which also served as working area since they do not have a big place where they can work.

The finished products are kept in a small room within the church premises on the 4th floor of T.T. Building in A.S. Fortuna St.,
Mandaue City.

Bags are sold between P150 to P450 per piece depending on the size.

Should customers want to make personalized bags or bags of bigger sizes, Eva said, they need to order two weeks before the bags will be
finished.

Eva said selling the bags is seasonal. There are months when they can sell and earn between P2,000 to P3,000. Monthly sales can also
reach P16,000 when bulk orders come.

‘Not a business for us’

“Making and selling bags is not a business for us. But a way of teaching people the value of work,” said Eva.

“I always told them to do their work well to make good quality bags. I teach them about color combination nga dili lang bisag unsa nga
color ang ibutang.”

At present, the greatest challenge is how to market the bags.

Joining trade fairs, they said, is not the viable way to sell the products.

Eva also said that the local market is not appreciative of innovative products such as newspaper bags.

However, she is positive that the growing number of international buyers such as those coming from the United States and The
Netherlands will fuel the growth of their micro enterprise.

They are also open to business people who may want to order from them and resell the products.

Because they still do not have a showroom where the bags are displayed, Leo said it is part of the plan to have one. “But as much as
possible we want to make it small so that we can manage it.”

Asked how small organizations can effectively start livelihood projects, Eva said: “There has to be a leader who will tell members that we
can do it. Someone has to begin. Someone has to inspire and lead the group to do something productive.”