The Re-Trade Project in Gqebera is expanding to cater more to the community by offering training alongside their recycling and trade programmes.
Gqebera, South Africa (28 September 2021) – The Re-Trade Project helps the homeless by allowing them to trade recyclable items for food, clothing and toiletries. The organisation is a non-profit that aims to grant the homeless a dignified way to sustain themselves.
This opportunity offers the homeless a way to uplift themselves without feeling like they are receiving a handout. They have to work to earn items from the trading depot, which then helps develop a healthy work ethic.
The trading depot uses funds from the recycled items to restock the shelves. Still, the NPO also relies on physical and financial donations from the public to keep the shelves properly stocked.
Maria Grewar founded the Re-Trade Project to address poverty in Walmer Park and the high pollution and dumping rate in the area. By launching the trade shop, the community shifted and started to look tidy. People who previously loitered or begged started cleaning up their surroundings, taking part in recycling.
The shop’s ten most essential items during the lockdown included Tomato and Onion Mix, Instant Soup, Rice, Pasta, Oats, Oil, Long-life Milk, Coffee, Mealie Pap and Sugar.
The Re-Trade Project has now launched an Eco Centre, which will be their headquarters. The plan is to have an office space for the organisation’s admin, a training facility to upskill those wanting to learn, and storage space for all the recyclables and the trade store.
The building is being made from reclaimed materials to go along with the eco-friendly and recycling cornerstones of the Re-Trade Project. We spoke to Maria about the exciting next step for the organisation.
“The building itself is made from 80% reclaimed materials, from unsea-worthy containers to flooring to bricks to toilets and insulation. We have also incorporated the ever-popular eco bricks to make some non-loadbearing interior walls.
The specific ecobricks used in our project are from our local community as well as one of our neighbouring projects GivingThemWings.”
We asked if people could get involved, and Maria confirmed that they welcome public participation. The projects include building up a community garden, donating non-perishable foods for the trade store, contributing recycled art for the new building, and sharing innovative green ideas.
If you would like to join in the fun of this exciting project, you can find out more via their Facebook page here. Maria has shared that anyone wanting to contribute to the project can email theretradeproject@gmail.com for banking details.
You can find out more via their Facebook page here.
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