The NPO says that crochet offers more than the satisfaction of creating something by hand. Increasingly, research is pointing to the potential benefits of creative activities for our wellbeingivities for our wellbeing.

An international study involving more than 8 000 people who crochet found that creativity, relaxation and a sense of accomplishment were among the main reasons people started crocheting. Almost 90% of respondents said crocheting made them feel calmer, while 82% reported feeling happier after crocheting, says the NPO.

For Re.Bag.Re.Use Founder, Regine le Roux, this is something she says she has seen first-hand through the initiative's crochet workshops introduced earlier this year.

"There is something wonderfully grounding about sitting down, picking up a crochet hook and focusing on creating one stitch at a time. You have to concentrate on what your hands are doing, which gives your mind permission to switch off from everything else for a while. And when you crochet with others, it creates space for conversation, laughter and connection too."

This year, Re.Bag.Re.Use says it has taken its workshops into the workplace, including participating in employee wellness days. Instead of conventional yarn, participants learn to crochet using plarn, yarn made from clean, used plastic bread bags.

The result aims to combine wellbeing with sustainability. Participants have the opportunity to learn a new skill while discovering how something generally regarded as waste can be transformed into a useful resource.

Recently, The Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town hosted an employee Wellness Day with Re.Bag.Re.Use participating. The Vineyard Hotel aims to maintain a commitment to responsible business and sustainability, and its employee wellbeing programme includes an annual wellness day and other initiatives that aim to support the mental, physical and emotional health of its team, says the NPO.

"What stood out most to me at The Vineyard was the warmth of their team," says le Roux. "Every person who visited our table was friendly, engaged and willing to give something new a try. It speaks volumes about the culture they have created and the value they place on the wellbeing of their employees."

"Our Wellness Days are about giving our team opportunities to pause, connect and focus on their wellbeing. The Re.Bag.Re.Use activity brought another dimension to this by combining creativity and connection with sustainability, something that is particularly important to us as a business," says Tana Pickering, Group Head of HR at The Vineyard Hotel.

Re.Bag.Re.Use offers customised crochet workshops for companies, conferences, team-building sessions and wellness initiatives. Workshops can be adapted to the group size, available time and the organisation's objectives, with participants getting to keep what they make, says the NPO.

For individuals and smaller groups, Re.Bag.Re.Use says that workshops are also available in Hout Bay.

The workshops aim to help keep plastic out of the environment, while also creating opportunities for creativity, learning and earning. A percentage of every sale and workshop is donated to the Neighbourhood Old Age Home (NOAH) and the SPCA, concludes the NPO.

For more information, visit www.rebagreuse.com. You can also follow Re.Bag.Re.Use on Facebook, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor