Plastic Bag Crochet Class in Bangkok, Thailand

When I was staying in a guest house in Bangkok, I taught one of the women working there how to crochet. She was thrilled!



And the next day, the guest house owners helped me round up all the kids from the neighborhood and I taught a plastic bag crochet class. Most of the kids picked it up pretty easily and I bought enough crochet hooks that they were all able to go home with one. I saw some of the kids later in the alley and they all smiled and showed me their crochet hooks that they had safely hidden in their pockets. Cute.






The problem is that good, cheap crochet hooks are difficult to come by. The only affordable ones I could find at the fabric shop in Bangkok were crappy plastic ones and a few of them broke in the first few minutes. I'd like to do a project like this on a larger scale and set up an online shop where these kids can actually profit from the stuff they make. But it'll be hard to explain to them that this is a great way to help the environment AND make money when good crochet hooks in Bangkok sell for about $8-10 each!
I wish cheap, good quality crochet hooks were easier to come by. Anyone have any ideas?