University of Mary Washington sells handmade bags to help Hondurans

By: | Times-Dispatch
Published: October 13, 2009

FREDERICKSBURG They're simply made, sturdy and colorful.

But the "eco-clutch" handbags for sale at the University of Mary Washington bookstore are much more than fashion accessories.

They are one small step out of poverty for women in Siete de Abril, a wretchedly poor village in Honduras.

Thanks to the bookstore and an enterprising group of Mary Washington students, their professor and volunteers, the women are joining the ranks of Third World entrepreneurs.

It began with Rachel Mason, a senior who journeyed to the Central American nation last year with Students Helping Honduras, a relief agency founded at the school.

While visiting Siete de Abril, which means 7th of April, Mason taught some of the villagers to make clutches out of recycled potato-chip bags and soda labels.

The women then began selling them to Students Helping Honduras volunteers to buy food and medicine.

At that same time, Shawn Humphrey, an assistant professor of economics, was working with Students Helping Honduras on micro-loan opportunities for the villagers.

"We thought it would be a great income-generating opportunity and fit with our La Ceiba mission," Humphrey said. La Ceiba is a student-run micro-financing initiative.

The handbag project is one component and has been evolving since Mason first came up with the idea.

"I had seen some similar projects at a green festival and I learned how to make the bags," Mason said.

At first, villagers were selling bags to student volunteers who make several trips there each year with the relief agency. But that became unwieldy and competitive. A larger goal was to expand the customer base to create a sustainable stream of income.

Now, "We buy the bags up front. The women are not allowed to sell them to volunteers. We're the middleman. We buy only the export-quality bags," Humphrey said.

That allows the market to dictate what's sold. Fourteen women make bags in three sizes.

"This is a really good project for them because there are no other opportunities for them to make money," said Ashley Cameron, a UMW sophomore and economics major who first traveled to Honduras last summer and is now overseeing the project.

Humphrey said the bookstore takes only enough to cover expenses, also handling online sales, packaging and shipping.

"It's off to an incredible start," Humphrey said. "About 30 bags have been sold [prices range from $15 to $30] and we've got a second order in."

Humphrey says other items -- picture frames and large bags that would fit a laptop computer -- could be added.

-- The Free Lance-Star