The Chiapas Project is a Dallas, Texas based nonprofit that collects old cell phones and ink cartridges, refurbishes and sells them, and uses the proceeds from the recycled equipment to help fund the Grameen Foundation’s microfinancing programs in Chiapas, Mexico.

In 2003, The Chiapas Project raised $790,000 to help bring 4,000 women loving in Chiapas out of poverty.

The Grameen Foundation is a global microfinance organization that works with 52 partners in 22 countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East, and has loaned over $3.7 billion to mostly poor women since it began operations. In 2005, The Chiapas Project launched a $3.5 million fundraising campaign as part of Grameen Foundation’s Latin America initiative to provide microfinance loans to the poor in Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia, The Dominican Republic and Mexico.

The money raised through the donations not only benefits the poor in Chiapas, but also keeps toxic materials out of America’s landfills. Cell phones contain arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxic substances.

Microfinance loans often start at around $50 and increase as borrowers repay initial loans. Women can use the funds to buy chickens, buy seeds or trees, sell fruit, purchase corn grinders to make tortillas, buy cloth and materials to sell handicrafts, and other investments to increase their family income. The loan repayment rate has been 98 percent.

Corporations, schools and other organizations are encouraged to collect cell phones and ink cartridges on behalf of The Chiapas Project. Details are available on their website.