Turning Glass into Opportunity
Bela and Zinha, Cooperativa de Valorização dos Resíduos (CVR)
For Anabela “Bela” Mendes de Pina and Hermínia “Zinha” Gomes Moreno, an empty bottle is never just an empty bottle.
Where most people see waste, they see possibility. A necklace waiting to be made. A pair of earrings. A keyring. “When I look at a bottle, I see my life,” says Bela. “I see my health, my dreams… because I depend on it.” Zinha shares the same vision with characteristic simplicity: “Here on Príncipe, a bottle could be rubbish. I turn it into something precious.”
Founded as one of Príncipe’s longest-established artisan cooperatives, CVR has spent years transforming discarded wine and beer bottles into colourful beads, carefully crushed, moulded and kiln-fired before being handcrafted into jewellery. Yet for the women behind the workshop, the process is about far more than creating beautiful objects. Every bottle they collect is one less piece of waste in the landscape, contributing to a cleaner and healthier island.
The cooperative has also transformed their own lives. Through their craft, Bela and Zinha have achieved financial independence, supporting their families, paying their bills and investing in their futures. “Everything I do, I do with love,” says Zinha. “And when something is made with love, it becomes beautiful.” Looking back on the early days, when there was little financial return, she wishes more women had stayed the course. Today, she proudly speaks of sending her son to training, paying her own expenses and earning her own income through her work.
Today, CVR continues to give discarded glass a second life, creating vibrant necklaces, bracelets, earrings and keyrings from recycled bottles. Although the cooperative operates independently, it has benefited from the ongoing support of HBD Príncipe and Príncipe Collection over the years. Led by Bela and Zinha, the all-female makers’ collective not only diverts waste from the island’s environment but also creates sustainable livelihoods, allowing guests to take home a colourful reminder of Príncipe’s creativity, resilience and commitment to a more circular future.
