Turning plastic waste into job opportunities for women and fair-trade products.

Komari, Sri Lanka / www.riceandcarry.eu

Photography

Since 2021, Rice & Carry, a social enterprise on Sri Lanka’s East Coast, has been upcycling rice bags and plastic waste into fair-trade products, while providing stable and secure jobs to 40+ local women.

Their team collects over 60,000 rice bags and 120,000 plastic bottles per year, preventing them from being burned or dumped in the environment, and turns them into dozens of different household products including shopping bags, bread baskets, coasters, and cooler bags; many of which are reusable alternatives to single-use, unsustainable products.

Rice & Carry is a testament to the impacts that a purpose-driven, sustainability minded business can have. Profit doesn’t need to be sacrificed in order to have a positive impact, in fact, when done right, they can drive one another.