Recycling Depot Project: Denims to shoes

MANILA, Philippines - Throughout sophomore year at my school, we were required to have what the IB (International Baccalaureate) calls a Personal Project. What is that? Essentially, it is a project that we individually work on almost all through the year. Tenth graders were given the chance to do what we wanted. It is fun not to have too many boundaries, but at the same time I aspired to make sure that I would make the most of what I can, given the opportunity. The project is ideally based on personal interest. It meant that I had to choose something that I found interesting and at the same time engaging. I wanted my project to reflect who I am, and I also wanted to do something that would not bore me during the process.

To help me choose, I thought about the concepts or activities I enjoyed the most. I am very much into sports, as I engaged in triathlon every now and then. One option was to organize an event that would open up my friends and the school community to a glimpse of my little world. A fun run/walk event looked like a possibility. Aside from the field of sports, I find delight in fashion and the arts. Finding significance in simple doodles, color application, different textures, mixed medium and the likes were also figures I had interest in.

I basically had three options to look into. The first one was a fun-run/walk event, the second was either a fashion merchandise or artwork, and the third was a program that would help those in need. With the difficulty I had in making the final choice alone since they all seemed like something I wanted to do, I thought about asking my mom for help, as she might know what would be the best suit.

I heard about a fun-run and walk-a-thon already used in Personal Projects last year, so she suggested that I might as well do something different. That left me with the last two options. During this time, her good friend Sen. Pia Cayetano, had this recycling depot project wherein you turn in your old denims and magazines, then they will go through transformation that would make them new denim espadrilles and paper bags. When my mom brought it up, I thought as if it would make the perfect project. It was the best cross between fashion merchandise and an outreach program, as the products could be donated.

What psyched me the most was the thought of going through the process itself, as all the ideas were thrillingly jumping all over my mind. The goal was to be able to organize my own denim drive in school, as well as collect denims from family and friends. I would then send them off to be made into espadrilles for the beneficiaries. Later on came the thought of selling some of the products, and donate the proceeds to the shoemakers for a source of income. TOMS is this brand of shoes that chose to give back to society by giving a pair to children with no shoes whenever a product of theirs is bought. I was inspired to have something like their advocacy. I decided that every time a pair of my product is bought, another is given to a less fortunate child, and the earnings would serve as an income for the shoemakers.

A big lifesaver I had for the execution of the plans in mind were the contacts and connections I had with certain people. Since Sen. Cayetano was a dear friend of the family, she helped me get in touch with the right set of hands that would assist me through the process. Her staff was in contact with me the whole time, so that assured me that I was in good company. At the same time, I had support from my parents so that helped me use the staff to run errands and such. Even though I had a good support system to back me up, one important thing I had to keep in mind was to not have hesitations since I felt as if that would hinder me from doing my work.

I started off my denim drive by informing the school community that I was organizing one, while explaining what my project was all about so that they knew what they would be donating to if ever they wished to participate. A time frame was also set so that people knew when the denims had to be turned in. Timing played a major role, because if one thing had to be extended, it would affect the rest of the process. I put up a big cardboard box in the lobby for the collection of the denims. After that, the denims were delivered to Liliw, Laguna where they were going to be made into espadrilles. The distribution and sales followed right after.

When it comes to achieving the goal, I was aware of what I had in mind and the standards I set for myself. I wanted a denim drive wherein I collect old denims from my friends, family, and the other people in my community. They were going to be turned into shoes. Half would be sold, and the other half would be given to charity. I was able to achieve this part of my goal. Initially, I wanted to have distributed before or during the Christmas season. I had struggles with meeting this mark, as I did not anticipate delays in the steps of the process. I think there was ability for me to achieve this had I been stricter with time frames and deadlines. Nonetheless, I am very happy with the outcome of the hard work I had put into my project. With the time allotted, I was able to donate 35 pairs of shoes to the foundation of Sen. Cayetano.

With my project in connection with community and service, I was able to become competent in finding a solution that would not only give back to the less fortunate, but to give others an understanding of what it means to be part of a project that doesn’t end in one stage. In my opinion, I was able to bridge the gap of the two into my project as I helped my community learn how to be of service to others in an uncommon way. I learned how to interact with people of different backgrounds and lifestyles.

The completion of the project was such a relief to me. At the start of it all, there was a clear picture in my mind of everything I was looking forward to, and how I expected the outcome to be. However, only during the process did I realize that it is good to have expectations, although it could be a source of stress and the root of probable failures when problems aren’t anticipated (although I definitely did not make giving up an option).

This whole experience helped me realize that in order to succeed, one must anticipate whatever can happen and be able to open their minds on plausible solutions. I definitely had to keep patience and humility in mind. Without that, I think I would have just lost my temper when a problem would come up and that was going to lead nowhere.

(Follow the author on Twitter: @EllaPangilinanx.)

(Editor’s note: The author is the daughter of Maricel Laxa and Anthony Pangilinan.)