On Monday, June 26th, the Sustainable Community Aid Network (SCAN) had its last Sustainability On My Mind workshop of this session. This workshop taught participants how to make environmentally clean products. This workshop was facilitated by My Centrepeace, an environmentally friendly small business that sells handmade, sustainable and plant-based products. The workshop was the final part of this Sustainability on My Mind program session, which aims to teach the residents in the low-income neighbourhood of Malton, Mississauga, about eco-friendly lifestyle strategies that households can practice independently for minimal cost.
Participants learned to make two products – an all-purpose cleaner and a soap scrub cleaner. The all-purpose cleaner required mixing 1 tbsp of Castille soap with 1 cup of distilled water in a spray bottle and shaking until combined. The soap scrub cleaner mixes 4 tbsp of Castille soap and 1 tbsp of water into a mason jar filled with 3/4 cups of baking soda to create a gritty texture that can be used as a scrub. Once finished with their products, participants could label their items and bring them home. All the ingredients are easy to purchase, allowing participants to make these products again.
Preparing for the workshop was relatively easy for SCAN as My Centrepeace was hired to orchestrate the workshop. They brought all the materials needed in ready-to-distribute paper bags, including a tube of Castille soap, a glass spray bottle, a microfibre cloth, a mason jar already filled with baking soda, three spoons and four blank labels, as well as multiple large bottles of distilled water for the all-purpose spray and paper cups to distribute the water.
Overall, thanks to Angie Minnick and Clovalyn Wilson, who helped with recruitment for the workshop, the workshop was successful, with a great turnout. There were around 20 participants, ranging from children to senior citizens. The demographic makeup of the workshop was diverse, with the registered participants being 38.9% Black, 33.3% West Indian, 22.2% South East Asian and 5.6% North African/Middle Eastern. Attendees left with their final product, easy-to-recreate green cleaning products and the knowledge of how to recreate them at home.
As mentioned above, this was the final Sustainability On My Mind Series workshop. In the past, we have had workshops on tin can luminaries, food preservation, mason jar herb gardens and other sustainable practices and activities. We plan to do another session with similar workshops starting this September. The Sustainability on My Mind Workshop series is funded by the Community Foundations of Canada, the Community Foundation of Mississauga and The Government of Canada. You can get more information about the workshop on the SCAN website and social media channels or email programs@s-can.org or call 1800-687-1351 for details about the upcoming workshops or how to support the organization.
