Red Bantam workers Meg Pargeter, Georgia Cooper, and Shania Weeks with the cut and bundled rags destined for workshops and factories across the region. Photo: Supplied.
You could almost call it a rags to riches story.
But in this case the rewards have little to do with monetary gain and everything to do with enriching the lives of young people with disabilities.
A busy flock of workers at Albury’s Red Bantam social enterprise are honing their employment skills manufacturing rags for industry.
Based in a small, light industrial precinct in Lavington, the enterprise provides supported work for 12 young adults and employment preparation skills for two others, with the added bonus of diverting tonnes of unwanted fabric from landfill.
Items such as sheets and towels from hospitals and motels that are no longer required are recycled into workshop rags for mechanic shops, factories and other businesses in the region.
Red Bantam is currently downcycling between 1600 and 2000 kilograms of waste material every week, says founder Jen Tait.
Sales of the bags of rags go to providing wages for the young people, she explains.
But it’s so much more than that. Red Bantam is so popular Jen’s got a waiting list of workers wanting to join this roost.
“The problem is no one wants to leave – I’m knocking people back,” laughs Jen.
“The beauty of manufacturing rags is everyone can participate at their own stage of learning and at the end of the working day, there is the satisfaction of seeing a physical product that is being sold to businesses in the local and wider community.
“There’s a real sense of identity, pride and belonging from that which is so beneficial.”
There are also less obvious but invaluable social outcomes, according to Jen.
“There’s the enjoyment of working with your peers but also opportunities for the young adults to interact with customers – whether that’s through deliveries or making sales calls together to existing customers and even finding new customers for their rags,” she says.
“We have one guy who never speaks take part in a sales call and he said a whole sentence …”
As wonderful as it is to see these busy ‘Bantams’ grow in skills and confidence, it is equally important the community “gets to really see them and what they can bring in terms of potential as employees”, adds Jen, who has built quite the menagerie of bird-themed enterprises during the past six years.
From the original Purple Chicken Cafe (which offers hands-on hospitality training) to Bright Birds art studio and Quirky Turkey technology hub, Jen’s on a mission to help young people with disabilities learn to spread their wings in mainstream employment.
A job well done … Red Bantam team members with a purpose bulk order prepared for Albury City Council. Photo: Supplied.
Can you help?
Currently Red Bantam is in urgent need of donations of absorbent cotton, flannelette, cotton knit, and towelling items that are past their best, but can be turned into clean rags.
Without donations, raw materials need to be purchased, which effectively limits the number of paid hours and the number of young people who can participate, according to Jen.
“The more rags we sell, the more people we can put on,” she says.
From Jindera and Howlong op shops and the Bright Laundry “who puts stuff aside for us” to big business and councils such as Albury who place bulk orders, important community connections are being fostered.
This is no backyard set-up we’re talking about; Red Bantam supplies product to places such as the Mulwala munitions factory, Milspec military manufacturing at Albury and Vertrex Wangaratta.
The beauty of this rag trade is also the smaller orders closer to home.
The plumber at Wodonga or the mechanic ’round the corner.
“Our little customers are just as valuable as it gives our young people more opportunity to meet with and be part of the community,” Jen explains.
There is no doubt Jen’s feather-focused endeavours are a labour of love – a determined commitment to enhancing the ‘ability’ of young people with a disability.
Her son Alec, 17, who has autism relishes his role as a Red Bantam delivery driver.
In late 2024 he crossed the Simpson Desert on his L-plates as part of an epic outback adventure with his mum by his side in the passenger seat.
“I want to change the landscape of ‘disability’ to push for others to be as innovative as us,” she says.
“Purple Chicken was the only regional cafe of its type; now they are everywhere – we just have to show people what’s possible!”
Large donations of fabric can be picked up within Albury and Wodonga. Smaller donations can be dropped to Unit 5, 626 Dallinger Road, Lavington or Purple Chicken Cafe in 445 David Street, Albury. For more information call Jen on 0409 074 793, email [email protected] or follow their efforts on their Facebook page.
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