Millions of school children in Africa walk long distances to and from school on a daily basis – they have to pass long distances along the busy and dangerous roads or poor- or non-lighted areas. Once they return home, many of them are unable to study at night due to the absence of secure light sources.
It is for this reason that Retake Ltd, a for-profit, woman-owned business in South Africa, came up with the inspiring idea of Repurpose Schoolbags. The start-up, founded by Thato Kgatlhanye and Rea Ngwane, collects plastic bags from landfills and participating schools, and recycles them into textiles which are then used to make the bags.
Repurpose Schoolbags are satchels that are recycled from plastic bags. They contain solar panels which are charged during the day, as millions of students walk to and from school every day. The energy stored in the bag can be used as a source of light for children, making study at night possible.
The bags also increase night time visibility of the students as they walk, due to their retro-reflective material, thereby protecting children from busy traffic. What’s more is that the bags are waterproof, so that textbooks are protected from any rain, and they have trendy and unique designs.
This clever and simply solution to a persistent problem was borne out of a school assignment. Thato Kgatlhanye came up with the idea and unsurprisingly the young woman was named first runner up at last year’s (2014) Anzhisha Prize. The prize, now in its fifth year, awards young entrepreneurs from Africa who have developed and implemented innovative solutions to social challenges or have started successful businesses in their communities.
As a runner up, Kgatlhanye bagged $15 000 (R150 000), which became the seed capital to take her solution and convert it into what it has become – a successful business rooted in the North West community. This all with the help of her business partner Ngwane, who says that their business is not only lighting the way for learners, but is also creating jobs for their community in the North West province of South Africa. In this way, she says, they are tackling two social problems with one solution – helping children learn and injecting jobs into the area.
They currently have eight employees who are responsible for the entire process from the collection, washing and sorting of the plastic bags, through to the final stitching and delivery of the Repurpose Schoolbags,” said Ngwane.
Thato Kgatlhanye and partner Reabetswe Ngwane personify the buzzphrase social entrepreneurship. The pair have found an innovative solution to one of society’s most pressing problems – affordable energy in economically depressed communities without reliable access to electricity. They have designed schoolbags, through their company Rethaka, that do more than carry books – they help children read them too.
The ground-breaking pair’s creative juices keep flowing and they have now developed a range of luxury clutch bags using the same abundant waste material. Like any sustainable business, the pair are continuing to innovate.
In South Africa where the country’s energy shortage has led to rolling blackouts every week, the schoolbags Rethaka makes might just be the solution for everyone who needs to burn the midnight oil for study and work. Even for those who are lucky enough to never have a shortage of lights, perhaps this is a way for anyone anywhere to conserve energy – after all sunlight is free and clean – the buzzwords of the future of energy globally.
We would love to hear about who inspires YOU down in the comments. Or you can tell us about what YOU’RE doing to create change.
Hang onto hope.
