By Bisola Adeyemo
In Benin’s small coastal town of Ouidah, an initiative employs people with disabilities to transform fabric scraps into beautiful artifacts sold in big hotels in the small West African country and abroad.
According to AFP report, Amaké Yessoufou, said she always goes around every morning to the sewing workshops of Ouidah, a small coastal town in southern Benin, and collects in a large cardboard box of waste fabric that had been used by the tailors to make clothes.
In the past, waste fabric clogged up the drainage system of Ouidah, but Yessoufou is part of one effort to change that culture and make the most of recycling materials.
“My husband tells me every time that my knowledge in the field increases day by day and he is amazed at the variety of objects made from these fabric scraps. Only those who know can testify how true this is,” she said.
Nadia Adanle, “Couleur Indigo” founder, said “If I had to give keywords to describe this work, the first would be “wow”. Every time someone comes in, it’s “wow”. Secondly, there is the fact that this work is done by people with disabilities. The question I am asked is ‘how did you come up with the idea of making them work?’. It was normal to me with the condition that the person could not be moving all the time. That was obvious,”
Recycling tailoring waste into objects has made a significant difference in the lives of workers with disabilities, most of whom use crutches or wheelchairs.
“What they are doing is perfectly suited to their health issues and the result is that they create beautiful objects, marketable objects that can be used quickly and are found in important chains such as at the MGA residence (hotel in Ouidah) or in other places, in Cotonou, in Europe, in the United States,” said Marcel Adjanohoun, Benin tourism developer.
