{"id":366033,"date":"2021-11-12T13:43:46","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T10:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/benin-project-turns-waste-fabric-into-recycled-gold\/"},"modified":"2021-11-12T13:43:46","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T10:43:46","slug":"benin-project-turns-waste-fabric-into-recycled-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/benin-project-turns-waste-fabric-into-recycled-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"#Benin project turns waste fabric into recycled ‘gold’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Benin project turns waste fabric into recycled ‘gold’<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\n Out of piles of fabric all manner of objects take shape\u2014from placemats and rugs to earrings.
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Every morning, Amake Yessoufou makes the rounds of the sewing workshops of Ouidah, a small coastal town in the south of Benin, and collects scraps of fabric used by tailors to make clothes.<\/p>\n

In the past, waste fabric clogged up the gutters of Ouidah, but Yessoufou is part of one effort to change that culture and make the most of recycling materials.<\/p>\n

When Yessoufou ends her tour, the 28-year-old, who is deaf and mute, joins the “Colour Indigo” workshop, a project transforming waste fabric into decorative objects.<\/p>\n

Employing around 30 people, including 10 living with a disability, the project has found a loyal following and even ships some objects overseas.<\/p>\n

“I had never imagined that scraps of fabric could be useful. At first, I was amazed and astonished but afterwards, I understood that textile waste is worth gold if it is recycled,” says Lucrece Sossou, a local seamstress. <\/p>\n

In the workshop, Anne-Marie Afoutoutou leaves her wheelchair at the foot of a pile of scraps of fabric. On a small wooden chair, she braids pieces of laundry sorted by colour. <\/p>\n

Over the course of the day, the piles of fabric disapp<\/a>ear and all manner of objects take shape, from placemats and rugs to earrings, sold at between seven and 40 euros a piece.<\/p>\n