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The biggest enemy to clean the city : Plastic bags

A very important policy when we think about environment:
3R (Refuse – Reuse – Recycle)

This policy is in practice by little and little in Japan while in Burkina, it’s not yet recognized well. But there are always some people who have a good conscience anywhere.

Union YANTA is one of them.

Women and girls of this union used to cut down trees in quasi-national forests and sell the branches or charcoal to gain a small amount of money, which is illegal. Then if they are found, they have to pay a fine which is more than their income. Furthermore, as they didn’t plant new trees, the deforestation proceeded.

So Luxembourg project introduced to them cashew nuts processing, soap or karite butter production etc to give them alternative ways for income to selling branches and charcoal.

One of the ways is sewing. Some girls of Union took sewing training and now they can make clothes. Also as one of the Union’s activitie, they sew eco bags and sell them to encourage people not to use anymore plastic bags.

It’s nice design, isn’t it ?
The message says that “protect nature with sustainable rapping/bags”

But it’s not easy not to use at all plastic bags.

In that case, we can recycle them !

Another female association called GAFREH recycle plastic bags that they collect from streets or from informal deposit sites of household waste in the city.

These bags get a new life !

Coin purse

Pouches

Even dolls!

Or, they weave plastic bags like cotton.

The outcome...

Bag

Cosmetic pouch

We can’t recognize easily/quickly the material of these goods.

They are so well done.

But the sale is not easy.

Their quality is so good although the price is too high for local people even for me for certain goods. So the target is foreigners (tourists).

So I am going to work with them in marketing as a way to clean the city, to let more people know their great work and initiative and also to give them more opportunities to gain money.

Here the web site of GAFREH (it’s in French but you can see photos at least)
www.gafreh.ouvaton.org