Recycled Plastic

In Cambodia plastic bags are strewn everywhere, all over the streets and in the rivers. In 2006, the sheer number of them transfixed Elisa. With such a ready supply, it made sense for Smateria to transform this material into something desirable - black like oil, soft like leather, resistant like only plastic can be  - ideal for bags and pouches.

And where better to base the new project, than Andong village. The village was founded in 2007 when the Cambodian government decided to “clear” part of Phnom Penh and use this land to build new expensive houses, hotels, restaurants and shops. 8,000 families were forced to move from their homes to a new area without electricity and running water. Andong is too far away from Phnom Penh for the people to commute there and back so most lost their jobs.

A number of NGOs set up projects to help these displaced people and in 2008, Jennifer teamed up with CIAI (Centro Italiano Aiuti Infanzia) , a prominent Italian NGO , and moved the plastic workshop to Andong.

20 women currently work for Smateria in Andong, trained by Lina, the project supervisor, who is blessed with “magic hands”. The team of women collect the plastic, wash it, cut it and work with the crochet hook and needles to create the wonderful bags on our shelves today.