TURNING TRASH INTO CASH: MEET ADEJOKE LASISI, THE REAL LIFE RUMPLESTILTSKIN

Waste management has always been a major concern across the world, being a particular menace in Africa and some parts of Asia. It constitutes an immense environmental challenge and according to reports, over 15% of this solid waste is generated from plastic and nylon. In the spirit of sustainable environmental practices, various individuals and corporations have adopted measures to recycle and/or upscale waste. One of such people is Adejoke Lasisi.

Adejoke Lasisi turns discarded sachets of drinking water into art by using them to weave attractive items including clothes, slippers, bags and mats. Nylon water sachets are a major pollutant where she lives in Ibadan, frequently found clogging up drains and littering the streets [Femi Amogunla/Al Jazeera]

Adejoke Lasisi, the founder of Planet3r, is a Nigerian woman who makes fashion products with recycled pure water sachets and textile waste. Just like Rumplestiltskin in the fairytale, spinning yarn into gold, Adejoke Lasis is turning trash into cash while saving the environment as well. With her background in wool weaving and her concern for her immediate environment, she was inspired to find an innovative solution to the problem of excessive waste.

With only YouTube videos to guide her on waste management, she merged her skills in weaving and recycled waste into something meaningful. Her process includes four (4) stages, after sourcing for the waste products; the stages include sorting, sanitization, drying, followed by shredding, and lastly weaving.

Adejoke Lasis has partnered with different organisations and won several grants in Nigeria and overseas to train young people in the art nylon weaving. Very recently, on the 31st of March 2021, she was acknowledged as one of the 100 women creating a better Africa by www.weforgood.org