On a planet fraught with problems — pollution, global climate change, homelessness, poverty — many people are coming up with creative solutions. Mary Cramer is one Michiana local who was troubled by a global problem, happened on multifaceted fix and started crafting her own local contribution.

Disposing of and recycling plastic trash is an ever-looming problem for the average citizen. For the average grocery shopper, however, plastic grocery bags might get a second use after that Saturday trip for eggs and milk, but very rarely do the bags get a third run. Some shoppers have adopted the sturdier, reusable bags, but many still rely on the infamous, environmentally unfriendly totes.

So when Mary came across a YouTube video outlining how to loom plastic grocery bags into padded mats, she knew she was on to something. Her cousin in Texas made iterations of such mats and passed them out to homeless people in her area so they had something to lay on, as opposed to the hard, cold ground.

Quickly, Mary’s husband, Larry, made her a simple loom to start making mats of her own. Since June 2018, Mary has made nine mats, each about three by five feet and consisting of anywhere from 700 to 900 plastic bags. She has taken her creations to homeless shelters, libraries and various outreach ministries, like Redbud Ministries in Buchanan.

“It takes about six to seven hours to finish a mat,” Mary said. “I could finish two or more a week, if that’s all I did.”

Mary is thorough and organized in the craft of bag weaving. She cuts off the handles and the bottoms of the bags to turn them into simple loops. Next, she flattens and stacks them, then proceeds to loop the bags end to end. As the bags are looped into a long strand, Mary winds it into a ball that she calls a “plarn ball.” When Mary starts creating a mat, she has strands of plastic bags attached to each of the 30 pegs of her loom, and then she weaves the strand from her plarn ball, gradually creating tightly knit sections.

Although the matted creations are a creative and worthwhile afterlife for old grocery bags, Mary is particular. She is thorough in her effort to use only the cleanest bags, often getting donations from grocery stores and shopping centers. Those that are donated for a second use are submitted clean, or cleaned before being woven on the loom.

As fascinating as the process is, the time and number of bags it takes to finish one mat does not lend itself to speedy production, so Mary has trained others to pick up the project as well.

A small group of fellow church goers at Portage Prairie United Methodist Church, Mary and Larry’s home church, started a bag weaving group under Mary’s tutelage. At the group’s first meeting, Mary’s attention was split between her own speedy work, and instructing others. The sound of flapping and crumpling plastic filled the church basement, as did the chatter of longtime church friends eagerly learning the ways of a new, unorthodox ministry.

The group has five looms of its own, and plans to collect bags and disperse mats within the greater Niles community, perhaps as far as Chicago, according to PPUMC Pastor Rap Posnik.

“It may give a sense of accomplishment and connection,” Posnik said. “I feel it’s important in connecting us to all of God’s people.”

Connection is important to Posnik. He has worked with the Center for the Homeless in South Bend and sees how hands on work is often better than throwing money at a problem. And as a motorcycle traveler and camper, Posnik also knows how uncomfortable sleeping on the bare ground can be.

“These bags give a decent thickness off the ground, and an insulation barrier to boot. I think someone would cherish a mat like this,” he said.

Pastor Posnik is grateful for the church’s new small group of bag mat weavers, and Mary is thankful for them as well.

“I’ve been praying for a group of women to do what we’re doing right here,” Mary said.

Care for the poor, stewardship of the earth and creatively serving the local community make up a new endeavor for one Michiana local and her church. All it took was some old grocery bags and a YouTube video.