OUMOU TRAORE - President of the Plastic Valorization Center
Ours is an association of women that gives value to plastic waste and our center is called the "Plastic
Valorization Center".
[EMPLOYEE n. 1]
- Those sacks that you brought there to weigh are full of water!
[OUMOU TRAORE]
We, as the saying goes, kill three birds with one stone: we clean up the city, fight poverty with our work
and we raise awareness among the people about the problem of plastic waste.
MARCO ALBAN - LVIA Representative in Burkina Faso
The project was called for by the city of Ouagadougou, it was realized thanks to the knowledge of the
LVIA, but it has involved a whole network of players, including the Piedmont Region. These players
assisted from a financial standpoint, but also by sending down technology or capabilities from Italy that
contributed in dealing with the problem of waste disposal.
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

EMILE OUÉDRAOGO - LVIA Envirnoment Sector Coordinator
We have verified that there is progress. People's behaviors and habits have changed. Little by little, the
homes in the central zones have, in fact, become cleaner than those in the outskirts.
SAFIATOU SYLLA - President of the Sector 22 Sorting Center
We collect the waste door-to-door and we take it to the Sorting Center. Our collectors pass by homes
three times a week to collect the sorted waste; on Monday, for example, they collect the organic waste,
this waste is brought directly here; Tuesday is the day of the non-recyclable materials, in other words
those that can't be valorized.
Wednesday is the paper and cardboard day.
[MARCO ALBAN]
Ouagadougou is a clean city. It has won the prize for the cleanest city in continental Africa more than
once. From a waste management point of view, it is well-administered despite the fact that it has few
resources. Ouagadougou disposes and treats its waste with only five trucks. Compare that to a European
city that would likely have at least 100 times the trucks circulating for the same volume of waste and the
same population size.
[EMILE OUÉDRAOGO]
Here in Burkina, waste management is mainly in the hands of women. There are also men who
collaborate, but compared to women, they are a minority. In other countries like Guinea, or in Benin, or
others as well, it is the men who handle waste management.
[SAFIATOU SYLLA]
- Good morning Sir! How is it going? Are you well? When you have finished with this plastic, work also
on those piles there... later the truck will come and take everything away. And also remember those down
there! There is more plastic to collect. It is the rainy season and the truck can't always manage to arrive.
Put everything off to the side and sooner or later the truck will pass.
FATI OUANGRAWA - Sector 22 Sorting Center
My name is Fati. I'm 40 years old and I have worked in this center for two and a half years. I am happy to
have this job, that way I'm not stuck at home anymore.
This is the storage area for both hard and soft plastic. This is where we do the sorting, separating the
various kinds of plastic and putting them in their areas. We also separate cardboard and the organic waste
and each one goes to its department.
I live in Sector 22. It's about 2 km from here to my house. It is a 10-minute bicycle ride, but if the bike
breaks and I have to walk and it takes 30.
I am very happy to work in this center because there is a very good feeling among the women here and
we all hope this work will continue.
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

The job has different advantages. In the past I used to chat all day long with neighbors outside my door,
but now, when I get up, I go to the center and I work knowing that at the end of the month I will receive a
salary. Even if it is a small amount, I can buy clothes for the kids, I can feed them and us as well, and I
am happy because it's decisively better than nothing.
The salary is low... it is low, but this is the beginning of the project and we hope it will grow; maybe
when the work is consolidated, the pay will increase.
[SAFIATOU SYLLA]
At the beginning of the project the women earned a minimum salary of 10.000 francs per month, the
equivalent of 15 euros. Now that the experimental phase has ended and the project is managed only by the
municipality, the women have begun earning a minimum of 15.000 francs, or about 22 euros per month.
We think that in the future they will be able to earn the minimum salary of a worker in Burkina which is
about 30.000 francs per month, in other words approximately 45 euros.
[MARCO ALBAN]
Burkina Faso is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. That said, it has cultural and social
riches rather than monetary ones that are not included in the economic indicators, but which represent a
form of wealth for the country.
Even when you are traveling the streets and countryside of Ouagadougou, you can feel a sense of poverty,
but you also feel a great sense of dignity and the with the will to do whatever is necessary to maintain a
healthy environment. Unfortunately this is not the case in other African countries, and this aspect is
recognized by the majority of Africans who consider this people one of the most sound in the entire
continent.
SALAMATA ZANGO - Sector 22 Sorting Center
These are the pictures of my baptism. Here the priest is putting holy oil on my forehead, and here's my
godmother. This was 13 years ago.
My husband died 12 years ago while I was pregnant of her. A madman hit him with an axe, which also
disfigured him. That's how he died. After the funeral, my husband's brother wanted to marry me.
Because I rejected him, he took everything we owned: the land, the house and the livestock, forcing me to
go away. Thank god I later found this job and, thanks to Mme Sylla who hired me at the Center, little by
little I was able to save money and in the end I bought the land to build my house on.
[FATI OUANGRAWA]
Salamata used to live in a rental home in an undeveloped area. With this job she saved enough to build
her house in Yagma: as you know her daughter is deaf and mute and her husband passed away.
[SALAMATA ZANGO]
This house still has no fence because I have to focus on surviving first.
She was 3 years old when she got sick.
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

[SALAMATA ZANGO and NEIGHBOR]
SZ: Does Juliette learn what you teach her?
Neighbor: Yes, she likes it.
SZ: You have to insist... being deaf and not being able to study, without you she would be lost!
Neighbor: Fortunately she now has a trade to learn.
SZ: I will pay for the weaving materials.
Neighbor: Sure, with the materials she will also be able to work from home.
[SALAMATA ZANGO]
It's broken, and because I have to work on Monday, I have to repair it. There are too many holes in the
streets and it gets broken often. To have it fixed, I think it would cost 5.000 or 6.000 francs.
[READING TEACHER]
- How do you read this?
- If I add a consonant, what do we get?
[SALAMATA ZANGO]
I'm here because I want to learn how to read and write. With an education and the help of God I will be
able to work, and with some initial financial support, I could launch a small clothing business at the
market. But without an education I risk losing everything. That is why I am here to educate myself, in
order to become capable of working in commerce one day.
[CHICKPEA VENDOR and EMPLOYEE n. 2]
Vendor: In total it is 200 francs.
Employee n. 2: Add 50 francs and it will be easier to make change.
[SORTING CENTER EMPLOYEES]
- The chickpeas are good.
- Didn't you use salt or a bouillon cube?
- It has no flavor without salt.
- Too much salt is bad for you.
ZOENABO OUÉDRAOGO - Plastic Valorization Center
The rainy season is very tiring. Even the dry season is tiring, but never like the rainy one.
During the rainy season we can only work when there is light rain, but when it storms it is just not
possible.
[SORTING CENTER EMPLOYEES]
- Ladies, let's go because if it starts raining it will all turn to mud.
- Yesterday, going back, did you get caught in the rain?
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

- No.
- Instead, I did... what luck!
[MARCO ALBAN]
We are going to look for an open pharmacy to buy an anti-malaria medication, my son has not been well
since yesterday and malaria is still one of the main causes of infant death in these countries. It's an
endemic, especially in this period of the rainy season where there are many mud puddles and the
mosquitoes proliferate everywhere. So, this is the most dangerous time period.
[MARCO ALBAN and his TWO SONS]
MA: Take it! I have to go to Housemane's for a moment, because he is not well either. We'll leave as
soon as I get back... ok? Tell mom: "10 minutes and let's go!".
MA: Matteo, 10 minutes and I'll be back?
Matteo: Ok!
[MARCO ALBAN]
In our environmental projects, especially in the collecting of plastics, there are various consequences.
First of all, a project creates jobs: an average of 20, 30 or 40 women work in the Valorization Unit,
depending fundamentally and in proportion to the orders they receive from plastic buyers. There is a
network of collectors in Burkina Faso that includes, according to our estimates, about 1.200-1.500 people
who, sporadically some in a more continual way, bring plastic to sell.
[EMPLOYEE n. 3 and MALE SELLER]
Employee: If you bring good plastic, there is no need to sort it before weighing. It weighs 13 kilos.
Seller: 13 kilos? Ok!
Employee: You know the price: 50 francs per kilo. It's 650 francs total. Your name?
Seller: Souleyman
[FEMALE SELLER and EMPLOYEE n. 3]
Seller: There is always less plastic to be found. Before the city was full, now it is becoming more and
more difficult to find it.
Employee: It's better than nothing! We only take the plastic that can be used by the center. Even if we
have told people over and over to separate it out beforehand, they still don't do it. 50 francs per kilo,
makes a total of 1.000 francs.
[EMPLOYEE n. 4 with MALE and then FEMALE SELLER]
Employee: Ouedrago Souleyman! You have 13 kg. This is your money: 650 francs.
Male Seller: Thanks
Female Seller: I hope the Lord could make this job last into the future.
Employee: We will see!
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

Female Seller: Alright! Next time I'll try to stay in shape in order to bring more.
[EMILE OUÉDRAOGO]
The center began operating in 2005 and today the women are able to perform the duties that were carried
out by the LVIA during the start-up phase of the project. In the end they reached a level of selfmanagement.
Then the City of Ouagadougou got involved and currently oversees the entire center.
[OUMOU TRAORE]
It is a sort of call to duty. The salary depends on the months: if everything goes well the women manage
to make 30.000 francs each, but if something goes wrong we are an association and we therefore divide
the earnings, sometimes making 20.000 francs, sometimes 10.000 francs, sometimes actually nothing, but
we work because love what we are doing here.
In the beginning there were 30 of us women. This was the administration's policy. The idea was, as each
of us was from a different neighborhood, we could raise awareness in our communities on how plastic
waste impacts nature. When each of us goes back home, we are witnesses of how it is possible to use
plastic waste to construct other objects and, as a consequence, we shouldn't throw it out, rather it should
be collected and brought here to us.
[ZOENABO OUÉDRAOGO]
My name is Zoenabo. I am 45 years old and I go all the way to Polesgo to work. I travel 20 km to get
there and 20km to get back. I leave here at 6 am in order to arrive at work at 7:30. Sometimes I arrive
tired because if I wake up late I have to pedal harder to arrive on time. If I wake up earlier, rather, I can
pedal more slowly.
[ZOENABO OUÉDRAOGO to her GRANDCHILDREN]
- Go over there!
- Bring the corn inside!
[ZOENABO OUÉDRAOGO]
Working helps me a lot. The only problem is the distance, but if I wake up in time I manage to get
everything done. These are my children and grandchildren. If they don't have school, they fetch water and
wash the dishes, that way when I come back I only have to cook. I have 4 boys and 2 girls.
[ZOENABO OUÉDRAOGO and DAUGHTER]
ZO: Give me a knife to cut this plastic!
Daughter: Memé! Look in the breadbox and bring the knife that's in there and give it to grandma.
ZO: Take off the lid and add water.
- Where is the ladle?
- Bring me the axe!
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

[OUMOU TRAORE]
The administration chose to help the women because poverty in Burkina greatly impacts females. The
mayor decided to help the women in order to fight poverty because when women earn, children earn,
husbands earn: this is why they were chosen for this center.
[ZOENABO OUÉDRAOGO]
Since I began this job, my situation has gotten much better and with the money I earn I can do many
things. My husband pays the children's education expenses and now I can help him, I can buy clothes for
the children and for me. In a nutshell, things are really going better due to this job.
[OUMOU TRAORE]
- Help one another!
- It is always the same person!
We are weighing the sacks of plastic in order to resell them to the Malians. We buy these, but not to
recycle them ourselves. We resell them directly to those who transport them to Mali, or Senegal, or Ivory
Coast in order to transform them into new black trash bags.
[EMILE OUÉDRAOGO]
The waste that arrives here at the center is not all recyclable, for example there is waste broken down by
the sun that goes directly to the dump. The rest, rather, is washed and shredded...
[MARCO ALBAN]
They transform waste into raw materials, raw materials that are later bought by companies of the sector
that take these raw materials and produce other products like baskets, septic tanks, school kits and other
products that can then be sold commercially on the market.
Father LOUIS KALMOGO - S. Famille Saaba Artisan Center
We make rulers, drafting triangles, and the whole kit, with these particles. They are old plastic bottles.
We can make different colors depending on the particles we buy. They don't break and they allow the
parents to keep them for three or four years and it is very low cost. We also produce other things, like
hinges for tables and chairs, in other words, we can make many useful things.
[ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER and STUDENTS]
Teacher: What can we obtain from plastic waste?
Student: A house!
Teacher: A house made of plastic? Is it true?
Children: Nooo!
Teacher: What can we obtain from plastic waste?
Student: Teacher!
Teacher: Yes?
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

Student: A ruler!
Teacher: A ruler, very good!
Teacher: What else?
Student: A basket!
Teacher: Good job, a basket... and you?
[MARCO ALBAN]
Children understand, they really understand, and especially in a country where there is a high literacy rate
and where in many cases their parents did not go to school, the children have an awareness value, because
they return to their homes and tell what they have seen and involuntarily raise awareness among their
family members.
It is good to point out that these are long term dynamics. They are not short-term projects, rather
processes that take time. It may take years for them to take shape and sink in, and they also aspire to
tackle problems locally that today have a global dimension.
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

RE-AFRICA
by
Federica Miglio
and
Alessandro Turci
camera and editor
FEDERICA MIGLIO
executive producer
ALESSANDRO TURCI
production assistant in Burkina Faso
GEORGETTE S. KABORE
sound
ALESSANDRO TURCI
assignment editor
FLAVIA SCOLLICA
translators
GEORGETTE S. KABORE
DRAMAN CISSE'
JESSICA CARTER
ALESSANDRO SCARABELLO
audio mix
THOMAS GIORGI
technical support
LVR DIGITAL - Roma
DIVA CINEMATOGRAFICA - Roma
supervision in Italy
REGION OF PIEDMONT FOREIGN AFFAIRS
supervision in Burkina Faso
LVIA ASSOCIATION
driver in Burkina Faso
MANDE ISSAKA
______KLAR snc di Federica Miglio e Alessandro Turci____________________________________________________________________________
sede operativa: via Carlo Passaglia, 7 - 00136 Roma
tel-fax +39.(0)6.98261964
sede legale: via Monte San Gabriele, 2 - 28100 Novara
tel +39.(0)321.1817489
P.I. 02122200039
www.klar.it

with (in alphabetical order):
OUMOU TRAORE
President of the Plastic Valorization Center
MARCO ALBAN
LVIA Representative in Burkina Faso
EMILE OUÉDRAOGO
LVIA Environment Sector Coordinator
SAFIATOU SYLLA
President of the Sector 22 Sorting Center
FATI OUANGRAWA
Sector 22 Sorting Center
SALAMATA ZANGO
Sector 22 Sorting Center
ZOENABO OUÉDRAOGO
Plastic Valorization Center
Father LOUIS KALMOGO
S. Famille Saaba Artisan Center
special thanks to:
women of "Sector 22 Sorting Center" of Ouagadougou
women of "Plastic Valorization Center" of Ouagadougou
children and teachers of "École Bambi Métais" of Ouagadougou
Andrea of "Chez Giuliana" of Ouagadougou
LVIA Association of Torino and Cuneo
ABACASHI Association of Novara
KLAR ® 2013