影/逆轉人生!從拾荒者變花藝工匠 印度女嘆:終於能乾淨生活

Gulmeher 是一項社會創業企劃,旨在提供女性拾荒者和貧困婦女其他生計上的選擇,而 Kajal 就是此企劃的受惠人之一。過去她一直在印度最大的垃圾場——加濟布爾垃圾掩埋場(Ghazipur landfill)擔任拾荒者,每天在垃圾堆中尋找尚可以使用的東西,直到他來到 Gulmeher 擔任全職工匠。

Gulmeher is a social entrepreneurship initiative that provides alternative livelihood options for women waste pickers and underprivileged women, and Kajal was one of the benefiters.

For many years, she had been a waste picker, sorting through trash at The Ghazipur landfill, one of India’s largest waste grounds to see what could be salvaged, before working as a full-time artisan at Gulmeher.

有些婦女負責在日曆、燈具、寫字板上製作精緻手工藝,其他婦女則負責到當地最繁忙的市場中尋找原料。他們在花市中穿梭,尋找可以再利用的花瓣和葉子,並進行挑揀、曝曬、和燙平處理。

As some of the women handcraft artwork pieces on calendars, lamps, writing pads, others gather raw materials needed to create delicate craftwork from bustling markets.

They rummage through discarded flowers that can be upcycled and then proceed to handwork petals and leaves that are painstakingly separated, sundried, and ironed out.

儘管在垃圾場拾荒能夠賺更多,但 Kajal 很滿意現在的工作,作為一名藝術家,她可以享受一個乾淨的工作環境,而不用拿自己的健康冒險。她說:「在垃圾場拾荒時,我們時不時會撿食物吃,非常噁心。現在,只要我們有任何緊急狀況,馬上就可以回家休息,這在垃圾場是不可能做到的」。

Though she made more money by picking up waste, she’s happy with her current job as an artist which allows her to enjoy a clean environment spared from health risks.

“At the landfill, we sometimes picked up food to eat. It was disgusting. Now, if we have any emergency, we can easily go home. That was never possible at the landfill.” she said.

Gulmeher的設計負責人表示,「在這裡工作,生活中很多事物的價值都提升了,例如健康、教育和存款」,在這裡,員工們也可以很方便地借錢。通過「花的恩典」,這些年輕女孩們能夠拋開充滿垃圾和骯髒的世界,在遠離垃圾的地方重新安置自己的生活。

The chief designer at Gulmeher has explained how the “value of other things, such as health education, and savings have increased.”

At Gulmeher, employees are able to borrow money with flexibility.

By “the grace of flowers,” young girls are able to leave behind a world of litter and filth and resettle their lives somewhere far far away from dumpsters.