This article is from page 83 of the 2008-02-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 83 JPG
MISSION VALE can teach the rest of the world a thing or two about recy- cling. Nothing that finds its way into the care centre goes to waste.
Recycling allows the centre’s staff to buy bread every day for the feed- ing station.
The people who queue for food bring something which can be recy- cled and that in turn is sold on to pay for the bread.
They collect a half loaf of bread and a scoop of soup mix and at week- ends, some rice or potatoes and an onion, along with any meat donated to the centre.
The process serves the dual purpose of giving people the dignity of doing something in exchange for their food and making inroads into the mounds of litter which the authorities never collect.
Crumbs created in the cutting of bread aren’t swept into a bin, they’re added to the powdered soup mix which is given out to families.
The styrofoam lunch boxes that
contain the volunteers’ lunches are all saved and will also be recycled and every bit of leftover, including the tiny jams are taken down the site to give to the township people work- ing on the care centre.
When the volunteers leave, their clothes will be given to the centre.
The Summerstrand Hotel where the Irish are staying has opened it’s store cupbord to Missionvale and do- nated dozens of old but perfect tow- els, sheets and pillowcases.
On most building sites, bits of bro- ken brick and end pieces of timber are a problem. In Missionvale, the leftovers from the care centre which the Irish are building have been used to construct a little raised garden and a seat.
The most poignant bit of recycling of all happens outside the kitchen door each evening. After every batch of scones baked for the volunteers, the crumbs from the baking trays were tipped into a plastic bag and given to one of the township children who come to play in Missionvale’s ee N KOE