On a quiet Saturday afternoon, the smoky laughter of a family braai filled a yard somewhere in Harare. 

Music hummed in the background, children ran around barefoot, and a pile of empty glass bottles sat ignored in a corner—just another reminder of weekend joy and weekday waste.

But where others saw trash, Charmaine Mumbamarwo saw potential.

“I just looked at the bottles and said to my little brother, Unoziva tikacheka these glasses totogadzira maTumblers?” she recalls with a soft laugh. It began as a joke — one of those fleeting, silly remarks that usually dissolve into the heat of the day. Except this one didn’t leave her.

The idea lingered. It grew. And before long, it began to mean something much more.

A Name Born From Healing

The brand is called Restored — a word soaked in meaning.

She had once planned to name it after her late father, a man she deeply cherishes. But her life at the time was going through a quiet but profound transformation. “I was in a season of restoration with God,” she says. 

“He restored me — so why not restore parts of the earth too?”

Glass, after all, does not decompose for thousands — sometimes even a million years. What we throw away, the earth is forced to hold forever.

So Restored became more than upcycling.
It became an act of gratitude.
A spiritual offering.
A return gift to the world.

Where Broken Becomes Beautiful Again

The process is as hands-on as it is intimate.

She picks up discarded bottles from homes, streets, bars and restaurants.
She removes the labels.
She cuts the glass — carefully, patiently.
She polishes the edges — inside, outside, top and rim — until the surface is smooth enough to hold safely.
She disinfects.
She brands.
She packages.

And just like that, a bottle that once held soda or wine is reborn as a glass tumbler, a vase, an ashtray — an artifact with story and soul.

Some clients even bring their own bottles.
“It becomes meaningful to them — something personal,” she explains.

Every piece carries memory.
Every piece carries restoration.

More Than Glass — A Community Vision

Restored isn’t just making glassware.
It’s planting roots for a circular economy in Zimbabwe.

In a country where most glassware is imported, this work:

• Reduces waste in landfills
• Promotes sustainability
• Creates opportunities for artisans
• Supports local production
• Cuts reliance on imports
• Builds environmental consciousness

But her biggest dream?
To build networks with communities, restaurants, bars, and waste management companies so glass can be collected before it becomes litter.

Because glass does not have to die.
It can become, again.

Starting Small, Dreaming Big

The journey hasn’t been smooth.
There was no startup capital waiting in the bank.
No fancy equipment.
No guarantee of success.

“I bought tools bit by bit from my 9-to-5,” she says.
What mattered was movement — even if it was small.

“When you get a vision, do not silence it.”
Her voice turns reflective.
“Start where you are. If you delay, you’ll start doubting. Even if all you have is research — start.”

Who She Creates For

Not everyone is her customer — and she has learned to be at peace with that.

“Know your target audience,” she says. “Listen to the customer. It’s their need you’re meeting — not yours.”

Restored is for those who believe beauty can be reborn.
For those who care.
For those who want to drink from something meaningful.

Restored Is Not Just a Business. It is a Testimony.

It is what happens when healing meets creativity.
When faith meets purpose.
When a glass bottle gets a second chance — just like the one who holds it.

Restored is proof that nothing is ever truly wasted.
Not glass.
Not vision.
Not seasons of life we once thought were broken.

Everything can be restored.