‘Cocoshel’ receives int’l recognition
HSBC Sri Lanka became the only bank in South Asia to be awarded the
prestigious ˜Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award 2012 (AREA) under
the ˜social empowerment category for its partnership project, ‘Cocoshel’
at a glittering event held at the Taj Palace in New Delhi, India.
Tharanga Gunasekera, Head of Marketing and Communications,
HSBC Sri Lanka accepting the award from Niraj Sharan,
Chairman, Panel of Juries, AREA in the presence of LT . Gen.
Sudhir Sharma, Advisor, Enterprise Asia and Tan Sri Datuk
Seri, Dr Fong Chan Onn, Chairman,
Enterprise Asia. |
AREA recognizes and honours Asian businesses for championing
sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship. It also highlights the
participants leadership, sincerity and on going commitment in
incorporating responsible and ethical values, legal compliance, respect
for people and individuals, involvement in communities and protection of
the environment into the way they run their businesses. The
participating countries included Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka.
The ‘Cocoshel’ project is a true success story built around village
women striving towards a sustainable livelihood. The project was
launched in 2009, as a supplementary project to regenerate a tropical
rainforest in Mahausakande, Kiriella, following HSBC’s partnership with
the Ellawella Charitable Trust.
About 50 women living in the village of Hindurangala where the
Mahausakande project is located came together in 2008 to form a Women’s
Society.
They were then trained to manufacture a variety of handcrafts from
recycled and re-used materials that included greeting cards to shopping
bags from old newspapers; seed chains to kitul products that covered a
range of designs. After many such experiments, in 2009 the group decided
to specialise in items made from discarded coconut shells.
Today, they are able to produce hand made fashion accessories to meet
with international standards and have shipped their first consignment of
‘Cocoshel’ products to Germany.
With the support of HSBC the ‘Cocoshel’ line first retailed at Odel,
and thereafter reached the shelves of Barefoot Gallery in Colombo and
Kalaya in Pelawatte, Battaramulla.
Mrs Nalini Ellawella, Co-Founder of the Ellawella Charitable Trust
stated, ‘Cocoshel’ is an outstanding example of what can be achieved
with the inspiring leadership of the private sector and the commitment
of social responsibility programmes.
Women play a prominent role as major change agents for rural
communities and empowering them would accelerate the pace of
development. We are truly grateful to HSBC for the assistance and
support given in helping these women gain international recognition for
their produce.”
HSBC has a long standing commitment to supporting the community and
the environment in which it operates, and believes it is fundamental to
a thriving society and sound economy, upon which the business success
depends on.
Nick Nicolaou, CEO for HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives, commented, “We
are honoured to have won the South Asian Award for Responsible
Entrepreneurship for our efforts in Sri Lanka in helping to empower the
women in Hindurangala through the ‘Cocoshel’ project.
‘Cocoshel’ is uniquely Sri Lankan and an innovative idea of handmade
jewellery from discarded coconut shell that is combined with copper.
We hope ‘Cocoshel’ will continue to grow in scale and become an
iconic brand in both local and international markets and many more
organistaions and partnerships will blossom in time to come, with rare
and commercially viable products.”
Enterprise Asia, is the largest non government organization in Asia
to hold the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards (AREA) and Asia
Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) that recognize and honour Asian
businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship.
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