Cycle of Good: Helping the Poor Communities of Malawi

Cycle of Good is a charity project whose objective is to help the poor communities of Malawi. By creating various employment and enterprising opportunities, they are providing the locals several means to earn enough to support their families’ day-to-day needs, and not just rely on donations.

History Of Cycle Of Good

More than ten years ago, the Cycle of Good charity was established in the township of Chilomoni in Malawi to provide aid to the poverty-stricken families in the area. They wanted to introduce social enterprising as a reliable means of livelihood for the locals.

Over the past decade, Cycle of Good has established several businesses that employ about 500 people. They hire individuals from the community and put them on extensive training courses so that they can effectively perform their tasks and deliver quality work.

Profits generated from the Cycle of Good’s businesses are used to fund the children’s centre that provides child care services and family support to the needy families.

Among all their enterprises, the tailoring school has proven to be the most productive. Through the years, it has welcomed more than 2,000 locals, both men and women, who undergo through a diploma training course on sewing. After they have completed their training, they get hired to work for Cycle of Good, and also get to keep for themselves the donated sewing machine that they used during their training.

Members of the Cycle of Good team and their employees in Malawi are all based in Chilomoni. They have gone through the two-year Tailoring and Design course where they learned different dressmaking and sewing skills and techniques to produce not only dresses and clothes but also accessories and other items using recycled materials.

All individuals that work for the Cycle of Good project enjoy several benefits that help make them live better lives. As team members and employees, they enjoy various benefits, such as pay that is above the national living wage, full employment, pension, and paid holidays that give them the opportunity to adequately support their families.

Vision And Mission

To help put an end to poverty in Malawi, Cycle of Good has introduced programs and initiatives that make good use of the skills and knowledge of the members of the community, and the resources available in the region.

Their ethos put great emphasis on:

  • Valuing every human being, whether a member of their team or a customer
  • Treating everyone with respect and fairness
  • Taking good care of the environment by reducing waste and recycling as much as possible
  • Producing products that are of great quality and long-lasting and offer practical uses and applications
Different Ways You Can Help

Joining The Tube Recycling Movement

Cycle of Good want all of your used and unneeded inner tubes. They can transform these wastes into something useful, such as wallets, bags, and phone cases, through the skills and talents of their trained tailors. The finished products are then sent back and sold to the UK. All profits generated go to Cycle of Good projects and the children’s centre.

Everyone in the United Kingdom with old tubes just sitting in their garage or storage is encouraged to donate instead of throwing out theirs. If you are a member of a cycling club or know a person at the bicycle shop in your neighborhood, you can help out by telling them about Cycle of Good and collect as many tubes as you can. To spread the word faster, you can also print these posters out to give out as flyers or post to bulletin boards.

All inner tube donations can be sent to:

Krizevac Project

  • Address: Atlas Works, Paragon Road, Longton, Stoke on Trent, ST3 1NR
  • Telephone number: 01543 888494
  • Email: info@cycleofgood.com

Buying Cycle Of Good’s Products

Cycle of Good’s product catalogue is made up of a wide selection of items made from recycled materials.

INNER TUBE PRODUCTS
Name Price in £
Pannier straps 5.00
Pocket wallet 7.50
Coin purse 7.50
Pencil case 8.50
Glasses case 8.50
Phone case 11.95
Wallet 14.50
Messenger bag 89.00
Rucksack 89.00

 

LIMITED EDITION REFURBISHED, HAND-PAINTED BICYCLES
Name Price in £
Lilac Polka-Dot 18” Former British Postal Bike (Limited Edition) 495.00
Lilac Polka-Dot 22” Former British Postal Bike (Limited Edition) 495.00
Union Jack Bike 18” Former British Postal Bike (Limited Edition) 495.00
Union Jack Bike 22” Former British Postal Bike (Limited Edition) 495.00
Zebra Bike 18” Former British Postal Bike (Limited Edition) 495.00
Zebra Bike 22” Former British Postal Bike (Limited Edition) 495.00

 

SUSTAINABLE PALM LEAF PRODUCTS
Name Price in £
Pannier straps 5.00
Palm leaf tray basket 20.50
Palm leaf bicycle pannier 36.00
Palm leaf pannier – pair 66.00

 

AFRICAN CLOTH PRODUCTS
Name Price in £
Folding shopper 6.00
Simple travel pouch 10.50
Cloth bike bag 10.50
Travel document wallet 11.50
Table cloth and napkins 18.00
Pleated tote bag 21.00
Party bunting 24.00
Gift bags 24.00

 

MORE RECYCLED PRODUCTS
Name Price in £
Bicycle key ring 5.00
Spoke hooks 5.50
Banana paper greeting cards 10.00
Elephant dung notebook 10.00
Box strap basket (tiny) 10.50
Box strap basket (regular) 17.95
Box strap basket (large) 25.00

Click here to go to Cycle of Good’s online store and buy now!

Volunteering

International volunteers have played a major role in keeping the aspirations of Cycle of Good afloat through the years. They have shared their time and expertise in establishing businesses and enterprises for the progress of the community, and training the locals to become great craftsmen and valuable members of the society. You can read stories of Cycle of Good volunteers on Cycle of Good’s blog.

If you wish to volunteer, visit the Krizevac website for current volunteering opportunities available in Malawi.

Contact Cycle Of Good

If you want to get in touch with Cycle of Good to learn more about how you can help, donate, or other inquiries, here are their contact details:

Krizevac Project’s Cycle of Good

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