- Participants in craft workshops hosted at Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association are making eco-friendly products
- The organisation is carrying out the training project for working-class women with funds from Operation Santa Claus
At a workshop held at a resource centre for women workers in Kwun Tong, 13 women are listening attentively as an instructor explains how to knit a kitchen scrubbing pad using yarn.
As the learners are making progress, some have embarked on more creative patterns and endeavoured to add a touch of style to their designs.
Ivy Cheung Yuen-ching, who led the training session, said the attendees were very particular about their work.
"They are so keen to learn things to enrich themselves," she noted.
Participants in various craft workshops hosted at the Hong Kong Women Workers' Association are making a wide range of eco-friendly products for skin care and storage, such as charcoal soap and beeswax wraps, from recycled materials. Charcoal soap is said to treat acne, while reusable beeswax covers are widely seen as an alternative to plastic wrapping.
The organisation hoped the free training would enable its members, many of whom were residents of various public housings in the neighbourhood, to save some money and reduce their families' environmental impact as well by producing some usable things for themselves.
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Wu Mei-lin, the coordinator of the Hong Kong Women Workers' Association, was also looking forward to developing the production of these value-added products into a community business project, so that the working-class women could earn some extra cash.
"The money could be an incentive for them to join our activities and meet people," she said.
"We want to motivate these women to integrate with the community."
The organisation is expanding its workshops and carrying out its "Triple UP: upcycling, upgrade, upholding" project with funds from Operation Santa Claus, the annual charity campaign run by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK.
A total of 250 women from low-income families are expected to benefit from the two-year programme which involves training in producing upcycled and upgraded products.
The association will also provide facilities and equipment " such as sewing machines " to the participants.
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Wu said many women from low-income families lacked development opportunities and had low self-esteem.
"We want to provide our members with more training opportunities," she said.
"They may also be able to coach other members and promote our work."
Founded in 1989, the association has 1,900 members. It aims to empower women workers by dealing with their personal problems and helping them to develop their potential.
The organisation has four paid employees, who take care of its operations. It was a beneficiary of Operation Santa Claus in 2010.
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