On the Lamu island, off Kenya’s east coast, 47-year-old Usmail collects plastic which he then sells onto the Flipflopi Project.
The NGO was founded in 2016. It upcycles the waste into boats and furniture.
Lamu is contending with mounds of plastic waste – some washed up on its beaches, others genrated by its residents.
“We started collecting plastics a while ago,” Usmail says.
“There used to be a lot of plastic waste in this area, Lamu. We collect the plastic waste and sell it to the organization at Ksh16 per-kilogram or about 16 cents in dollars, We do not have a job. That is where we get money to educate our children and also make a living.”
The Flipflopi Project receives grants from other NGOs which they then use to buy plastic waste from locals.
The co-founder detailshow the process unfolds at this facility.
“We go to the community, and because we have some grant, we buy from the community,” Ali Skanda starts.