Carmién recycle project launch

The last school term of the year has started and we kicked off day one with some fun. The long awaited (and quite a few trials later) recycle card project was launched at De Meul, our largest community centre.

Sometimes our best laid plans go awry as there are so many people involved. This was no exception but the children surprised us once again. They took to card making like ducks to water! Soon their confidence started building and of course some natural leaders emerged. Some became quite possessive about their work stations and checking up on one another! We gave them some free reign so the card you receive with your Carmién purchase may sometimes be a bit crooked! All part of the creative process.

After starting out with much enthusiasm they went into a wary silence knowing they were about to be photographed. Some prompting revealed a lot of natural musical talent and soon everyone joined in. Finally we celebrated the success of our first batch of cards with the signing of their names at the back which took almost more concentration than the making!

Watch the card making fun with us in this video:

Maybe you are asking, why all this card making?

These cards are not for sale. One card is added to each Carmién Tea online purchase as a thank you for supporting us and we feel it enables us to bring our consumers closer to our farming community. The card making forms part of several activities that have been introduced to support the children’s creative development during aftercare. These usually take place on a Friday afternoon after school, at each of the four aftercare centers and supports what they do at school.

We have a two fold reason for all this added creativity.

Firstly, it sharpens their concentration,

  • improves their problem solving ability,
  • increases their general awareness,
  • enhances their decision-making processes and
  • stimulates creativity in every other area of their lives and we saw proof of this again today

Secondly, we, at Carmién Tea strive to

  • give not just our workers, but also their children every opportunity to learn and grow,
  • and expose them to our consumers and the greater opportunities available to them today,
  • so while we are stimulating their creativity and learning,
  • we are also showing them the value of community work
  • creating greater eco awareness by not wasting,
  • re-purposing the natural byproducts from our packaging material
  • and keeping their environment clean

Thank you to our children, Colourtone Aries for donating the printing, and the staff of The Pebbles Project for assisting in rolling out the project at each of our crèches and after school care centers.