Community climate action: Refugee Artisan Initiative

“We can provide them with a living wage, a job working from home... and [give] these materials a second chance so they don’t end up in a landfill.”

Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI) -- one of King County’s recent Climate Equity Sponsorship recipients -- partners with refugee and immigrant women to build skills, launch small businesses and craft products made with materials that would otherwise go to waste. The Climate Equity Sponsorship program provides support for community organizations to serve King County frontline communities on climate action, policy, and advocacy.

RAI -- pronounced “ray” -- provides economic mobility and career opportunities and helps to design out waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Both outcomes are flagships in the newly approved King County Strategic Climate Action Plan.

Artisans sew at RAI's headquarters, which is home to sewing equipment, trainings, and community-building.

“We believe creating jobs and preserving our planet can go hand in hand,” RAI Executive Director Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman said.

RAI started with Ming-Ming bringing sewing machines to women’s homes along with projects to “upcycle” materials. That meant turning materials that would otherwise go to the landfill into clothing and other items that women could sell to help support their families. Along with the economic benefits, the program helped reduce waste that would otherwise go into landfills.

“Everything from leftover fabric trim, garments you wear, bed sheets, and coffee bags that can’t be recycled,” Ming-Ming explained. “How can we utilize the materials we already have in our community and create something functional with a market value? During COVID we even made 80,000 masks from bed sheets.”

Fabric at RAI's manufacturing site. RAI upcycles materials, giving them a second life.

RAI grew into an impactful nonprofit, producing more than 120,000 artisan items, upcycling 5,000 pounds each year from landfills, and donating thousands of hats, masks, and pet products. They provide many resources for their participants, including entrepreneurship support and career skills training. King County’s climate sponsorship fund will help to pay to translate some of their on-boarding materials. A majority of current artisans (43 immigrant and refugee women) are multilingual, many of whom are still building their ESL skills. Roughly 25% of RAI’s artisans are affected by literacy barriers, preventing the sharing of written knowledge. RAI says this is where translating materials to video format (in addition to written translations) will be transformative in sharing knowledge and a step towards economic independence.

Everyone is invited to support their mission by volunteering, shopping for some of their handmade items, or donating. To learn more, visit refugeesarts.org.

Tote bag made with upcycled materials.