After spotting Boomerang Bags at a conference, SEE (Skills for Education and Employment Program) staff saw an opportunity to start a Boomerang Bags group in Liverpool, NSW. The focus on reducing plastic, facilitating conversations and building community connections aligned nicely with their teaching program.
MTC Australia (Employment Services) started by making 20 bags which were gifted to Presenters at the Annual SEE Personal Development Conference in 2019. From here, things escalated and staff created Boomerang Bags lesson plans that made it easy for students to get involved in the project too. Talented seamstresses quickly emerged from every classroom!
From here, the project was implemented as a Work for the Dole activity, showcased by UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), and bags are being supplies to the UTS International Conference where the bags will be given to delegates all over the world. Proceeds from this were given to the Liverpool Womens Resource Centre, who work to empower Aboriginal women (and other culturally and linguistically diverse women) through a number of programs.
Bags have also been showcased at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre for their function celebrating International Day for People Living with Disability.
Kindness Quotes are added to the bags for the extra ‘feel good’ assurance that there is goodness in the world, and that life is for living, despite its challenges.
A very cool example of how starting with one small idea to make 20 bags for an event lead to so many meaningful connections and collaborations!
