Today’s Trash is Tomorrow’s Treasure

1 The concept of upcycling/has been receiving attention worldwide.// Upcycling means/using waste to create more valuable products.// It is also called/“creative recycling.”// In 1997,/a woman in the Gambia, Isatou Ceesay,/started a project/related to upcycling.// In her project,/Ceesay made colorful purses/out of discarded plastic bags/with her friends.// Ever since,/the project has contributed/to empowering not only Ceesay herself/but also many women/in the Gambia.//

2 Ceesay was born in a small village/in the Gambia in 1972.// In those days,/few children received education there.// Ceesay was no exception.// However,/being curious and active,/she always questioned/what was regarded as “common sense.”// She also wished to solve social problems.//

3 When Ceesay was 25,/she met volunteer workers/of the US Peace Corps.// She learned/how to recycle waste/from them.// At that time,/waste disposal methods had not been established/in the Gambia,/and a lot of plastic bags were thrown away/on the streets.// Those plastic bags resulted in serious problems/such as malaria outbreaks, animal deaths, and poor harvests.// After learning these facts,/Ceesay wanted to reduce the number/of discarded plastic bags.//

4 After a while,/Ceesay came up with the idea/of making purses out of discarded plastic bags/and selling them.// Ceesay and her friends began the project/by picking up plastic bags/on the streets.// After washing and drying the plastic bags,/they cut and spun them into yarn.// Using the plastic yarn,/they successfully made handy purses.//

5 However,/their husbands were not happy/with their project.// The men said/that women should focus on household chores.// Despite the opposition,/Ceesay and her friends never gave up.// They got together at night/and kept making purses secretly/by candlelight.// When they completed enough purses,/they brought them to a market/in the city.// The purses were popular/and sold out quickly.// Ceesay and her friends were so delighted/that they decided to continue their project.// Their husbands gradually accepted it,/realizing that the wives’ income supported their families.//

6 Over time,/Ceesay’s project involved women/in nearby villages.// Through the project,/the women were able to earn money/and open their own bank accounts,/which led to their financial independence.// Currently,/over 2,000 women in 40 communities/participate in this project.// Thus,/Ceesay’s wisdom brought about a big change/in women’s social status.// In addition,/influenced by her project,/the Gambian government banned the use of plastic bags/in 2015.// The wisdom also changed people’s attitudes/toward the environment.//