Bag to basics

Turning waste into something useful is a passion for many. Aishwarya S, a student of Vijaya College, is one such person who takes her passion for the environment miles ahead by recycling rice sacks into reusable bags.

While Aishwarya grew up with the ideal of making the world a better place to live in, it was at a platform called ‘i3’, where she had to do projects to create an impact in the society that this idea germinated. “I got the topic ‘environment’ and I chose to make something related to recycling. That’s when I converted a rice bag into a beautiful bag,” she says.

“I’ve often seen these rice bags just lying around and being wasted. By converting them to useful bags once again makes them productive,” she says. Aishwarya remembers that she has been creative from her childhood and loved making stuff out of waste. “I used to make vases out of used spoons and bags out of paper and have given them to others,” she says.

“You can carry anything like books, fruits, clothes etc in these bags. You can take it for shopping. It is a light-weight bag and can be folded and kept in your pocket too,” she says. Aishwarya is kicked about her hobby as it is eco-friendly. “I donate these bags to poor kids and organisations for the visually challenged. I have also given some of these to government schools,” she says.

She has made about 50 to 60 bags since she started this hobby. Ask Aishwarya about how she makes these bags and she explains that she goes door-to-door asking for the 25 kg rice bags. “I then clean these bags, turn them around, cut them and stitch them into bags,” she says.

She uses simple techniques to make her bags attractive. “I use fabric paint to paint on the bags so that the designs stay for a long time. I also use other items like woollen thread and 3D outliners. I often use small bags handed out at weddings to make flowers and decorate on these bags too,” she says.

Aishwarya also goes about handing these to medical shops, grocery shops and other small stores in her locality to create awareness about the importance of recycling, among the shopkeepers and other citizens.

“I ask them to use these bags and tell them to spread the concept around,” she says. Her bags have designs varying from cute smiling faces and simple flowers to wordings on them. “I often try and write social messages like ‘Save Trees’ or ‘Don’t Use Plastic’ on them, which along with the product, is powerful in spreading the concept of recycling,” she says.

Aishwarya says that she constantly experiments with designs so as to make people use them. “I’m trying marble painting and other techniques to make the bags pretty. I’m also trying to make bags in smaller sizes so that they are more user-friendly,” she says.

Her hobby becomes fruitful when she is able to make someone think about doing their own share for the environment. “Since there is not much money that I put into this hobby, I am able to encourage myself to continue making innovative bags. I know stitching so it’s not a hassle at all,” she says.

Aishwarya feels encouraged and excited to make more bags when people give their feedback. “Most of them tell me how I’m creating an impact with my simple hobby. This makes me happy,” she adds.