Introduction
In the vibrant pink city of palaces and forts, a quiet revolution is unfolding—one plastic strip at a time. Based in Jaipur, Bhayli is a women’s livelihood initiative that helps empower rural women in Rajasthan to transform waste materials into up-cycled products. One of Bhayli’s signature art forms is plastic weaving —a practice where single-use plastic bottles are turned into unique home decor pieces, woven with a commitment to sustainability.
As a Banyan Impact fellow with the American India Foundation working on the Bhayli project, one of my core responsibilities is to train new creative partners in the art of plastic weaving. But to effectively teach others, I first had to learn the process myself.
From the beginning, it was important for me to understand each aspect of the plastic weaving process, not just to support my supervisor, but to eventually step into a leadership role and confidently guide a training workshop. It was also important that I took part in every step that creative partners followed so that I could better understand their experience, anticipate challenges, and offer meaningful support when needed.
From Bottle to Weave
The first step in plastic weaving begins with washing and cleaning. The journey starts when discarded plastic bottles collected by ECOWRAP, our parent organization, are taken from restaurants and hotels to ECOWRAP’s warehouse. From there it is delivered to our creative partners’ homes where the transformation begins. Working from their own homes and setting their own schedules, creative partners clean the bottles, cut them into strips, and weave them into “cane”.
I too took part in the hands-on process, which began with removing adhesives from bottles, applying WD-40 to dissolve any stubborn stains, scrubbing with soap, and finishing with a final rinse. The step-by-step plastic weaving process was led by my supervisor and Bhayli’s Creative Director, Erin Burneson, whose steady leadership guided me and helped me learn each stage with confidence.
The next step is cutting the bottles into strips. Using Bhayli’s DIY wood tool, creative partners turn plastic bottles into long, even strips. Finally, these strips are woven into a 35’’x 35’’ square frame through a six step weaving process. Once the weaving is complete, the woven material is then collected from creative partners’ homes and sent to Bhayli’s carpenter who skillfully fashions them into our home decor items.
Milestones
For me, the most challenging part was learning how to pull consistent strips with the wood tool. However, with repeated practice and a few technique adjustments, particularly in how I held and rotated the bottle, I was eventually able to produce long, even strips of plastic.
Another key responsibility as a fellow, was to create a training video showcasing the full plastic weaving process. This required recording myself demonstrating the six step weaving procedure on a smaller frame. With Erin’s guidance and a few practice rounds of plastic weaving, I was able to confidently film the tutorial, highlighting each step that future creative partners could easily follow. To ensure accessibility, the audio was also recorded in Hindi, allowing creative partners to better understand and carry out their work.
Reflection
The hands-on learning process naturally translated over to the workshop sessions and taught me that leading begins with learning. By actively engaging in the full process, I built not only the technical skills required to teach, but also the empathy and insights needed to train with intention and care. Each bottle cleaned, each strip pulled, and each frame woven was not just a task, but a lesson in patience and empathy. I gained a deeper understanding of the women I trained, their strengths and their challenges. More than anything, this journey reminded me that true leadership is not about knowing everything, it’s about staying curious, getting your hands dirty, and always being willing to learn and re-learn alongside others.
