Benin project turns waste fabric into recycled 'gold'

Every morning, Amake Yessoufou makes the rounds of the sewing workshops of Ouidah, a small coastal town in the south ofBenin, and collects scraps offabricused by tailors to make clothes.

In the past,wastefabricclogged up the gutters of Ouidah, but Yessoufou is part of one effort to change that culture and make the most of recycling materials.

When Yessoufou ends her tour, the 28-year-old, who is deaf and mute, joins the "Colour Indigo" workshop, aprojecttransformingwastefabricintodecorative objects.

Employing around 30 people, including 10 living with a disability, theprojecthas found a loyal following and even ships some objects overseas.

"I had never imagined that scraps offabriccould be useful. At first, I was amazed and astonished but afterwards, I understood that textilewasteis worthgoldif it isrecycled," says Lucrece Sossou, a local seamstress.

In the workshop, Anne-Marie Afoutoutou leaves her wheelchair at the foot of a pile of scraps offabric. On a small wooden chair, she braids pieces of laundry sorted by colour.

Over the course of the day, the piles offabricdisappear and all manner of objects take shape, from placemats and rugs to earrings, sold at between seven and 40 euros a piece.

One "Colour Indigo" client is Marcel Adjanohoun, head of several hotels in Ouidah -- a tourist destination 40 kilometres (25 miles) along the coast from Cotonou, the economic capital.

"These are objects that speak to me a lot, so I use them to decorate my hotel," explained the entrepreneur.

Braiding the pieces offabricto make objects has significantly changed the lives of the workers, most of whom use crutches or wheelchairs.

Contrary to what some argue, working with people living with a disability does not affect the productivity of the company in any way, says Nadia Adanle, the business manager.

Thanks to her work, Afoutoutou can "finally provide for her needs", whereas before, she says, she could "not put anything aside".

"The way society looks at me has changed a lot since I leave the house every morning to go to work," she says, her eyes riveted on the thin braids."Today, I feel valued."