The same sachet water bags that once carried Fatim Jobe’s rice stock into a flooded drain last August are now neatly stacked beside her. She carefully cuts them into strips, ties them together, and weaves. After six hours of dedicated work, she will have crafted one handbag. That single handbag will bring in D500, and by selling a dozen, she can easily cover this month’s rent.
Before she was trained by Isatou Ceesay, the queen of plastic recycling, Ftou used to burn plastic behind her kiosk to ward off mosquitoes. Now, she’s found a way to sell it to tourists. But with a staggering 30 tons of plastic being dumped daily in Greater Banjul areas and Chinese bags going for just D50, Fatou and 40 other women in her community are left with a pressing question: Can weaving waste help them avoid the next flood?
Photo: CEO, Ceesay, Queen of Plastic Recycling
At just 15 years old, she stepped out of a classroom for the very last time. Fast forward to today, and she is heading home with up to D7,000 a month, more than what many salaried workers in The Gambia make.
For this former grade 9 dropout, waste has become a source of income. As a child, she watched her parents stitch together discarded plastic bags to make ends meet. What seemed like playtime turned into her training ground: she started gathering small sticks and binding plastic scraps. Now, thanks to the queen of plastic recycling and the inspiring vision of Isatou Ceesay, recycling has become her full-time gig.
She collects small, discarded plastic bowls, turns them into laundry soap, and sells them for D150 each.
“I don’t regret leaving school,” shared the 44-year-old Fatim Jobe. “Earning D7, 000 a month feels significant. Even those with salaries aren’t making up to D5, 000.”
Her journey illustrates how a community project is transforming plastic waste and school dropouts into opportunities for income, skills, and a model that others are starting to emulate.
Photo: Stitched Sachet Water Bags.
Since July 2022, The Gambia has faced devastating flooding that has resulted in the tragic loss of life, forced many people from their homes, and left communities in ruins. A particularly heavy rainstorm in Fonkoi Kunda, in the Lower River Region (LRR), in 2025 caused significant flooding that affected 18 households, displacing 8 families entirely due to extensive damage.
Mango trees for income
In The Gambia, plastic waste is a major problem, blocking drains, causing floods, harming livestock, and releasing harmful dioxins when burned.
Waste-picking used to carry a stigma. “People thought I was foolish for not doing something more ‘useful’ than collecting plastic waste,” said Isatou.
Isatou Ceesay dedicated over 14 years to tackling this issue, despite her mother’s hopes that she have a traditional office job. After founding her organisation in 2012, she began teaching women how to turn waste plastic into handbags under a mango tree. To build trust, her team initially sold the first bags at “exorbitant prices” in Banjul, and then travelled from village to village showing the profits:
“We managed to convince people that they could recycle plastic waste into bags and still earn money.” She connected recycling to survival, explaining how plastic “kills our animals because it doesn’t break down in their stomachs or in the soil,” and that the fumes “can lead to breast cancer and infections in their babies.”
Collaborating with American Peggy Shetland brought Peace Corps support, and a meeting with entrepreneurs in Senegal opened her eyes to new possibilities. Now, she’s expanding her efforts through a 30×20 square feet skills centre and the “Women Entrepreneurs and Environment Heroes” federation.
Effects of heavy Downpour on houses in Fonkoi Kunda. Photo: The Gambia Red Cross Society
The results speak for themselves. “I currently have over 5,000 people benefiting from my project,” including students. The deaths of livestock due to plastic have “declined; we have our staff collecting plastic, and we’ve advised against burning it.” Her journey inspired the book “One Plastic Bag” by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, which has taken Ceesay to the U.S. Library of Congress more than 10 times, and is now used in the U.S., China, and the UAE.
However, challenges remain. Some husbands have reported participants to the police, claiming Ceesay “was encouraging their wives to ruin their marriages.” She describes her current work as “short-term plans” while she aims for a larger skills centre.
Questions linger, too: Are health risks being passed on to the artisans? Can this model influence national policy without a ban on plastic bags? The Gambia banned plastic bags in 2015 under the ‘Ban on Plastic Bags Order,’ which aims to achieve an 86% reduction in plastic pollution within 10 years. Lessons are like journeys. Cash managed to win over sceptics quicker than the concept of ecology ever could. By linking waste to assets, the idea that “most of our savings in Africa are tied up in animals and land” positioned recycling as a means of protecting wealth. The story of One Plastic Bag transformed local initiatives into a global learning experience. Connections across cultures, from Shetland to the Peace Corps, opened up new markets and networks. Now comes the real challenge: Can this women-led federation evolve from simply adapting to driving systemic change?
Recycling Cuts Food Risk, But Needs Government Backing to Scale:
Photo: Gambia’s Main Bakoteh Dumpsite
In Greater Banjul, flooding during the rainy season from July to September is exacerbated by plastic waste. Single-use bags and bottles often block canals, gutters, and waterways, preventing rainwater from draining properly. The devastating floods of 2022 highlighted this issue, as the blockages displaced thousands and caused significant property damage. While drainage systems are in place, they become ineffective when plastic waste clogs them, leaving water with nowhere to go.
Sambou Kinteh, a Senior Climate Change Officer at the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, emphasises that community micro-recycling can help alleviate this problem. He explains, “Plastic waste directly clogs canals, gutters, and natural waterways. This blockage prevents rainwater from draining, especially during the heavy July-September rains, leading to standing water, overflow, and property damage.”
The Queen of Plastic Initiative Gambia is working to tackle this by collecting low-value plastic and turning it into durable products, such as handbags. By creating a market for materials that would otherwise contribute to drainage issues, they encourage collection before the waste reaches waterways. However, Kinteh warns that for this initiative to effectively reduce flooding, it must significantly expand its collection networks across communities and be integrated into municipal waste management plans. He also stresses the importance of collaboration with drain clearance programmes led by the National Disaster Management Agency or the Kanifing Municipal Council. On its own, he acknowledges, “it is a partial solution but demonstrates a viable community-led model for reducing plastic in the environment.”
The health situation is quite pressing. In peri-urban Gambia, open burning of plastic is a common practice due to limited waste collection services. This burning releases harmful substances, such as dioxins and furans. Kinteh points out that these toxins are “linked to respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and lung irritation, especially in children and the elderly,” along with “cancer risks, reproductive and developmental issues,” and “soil and crop contamination, which jeopardizes food safety.” By transforming waste into handbags, we can cut down on burning and landfilling, which helps reduce air pollution for the entire community.
However, there’s a flip side: artisans may face risks if their workshops aren’t well-ventilated or if they lack gloves and masks. “Cutting and sewing plastic can release micro-particles if there’s no proper ventilation,” Kinteh cautions, adding that there are dangers from “skin contact with unwashed or chemically-treated plastics.” The solution, he emphasises, lies in implementing safe-work protocols.
“TQPIG must ensure that workshops are safe, primarily use clean post-consumer plastic, and steer clear of plastics with toxic residues.” With the right training and equipment, he believes “the health benefits for the community can significantly outweigh the controlled risks to artisans.”
Regarding vulnerability, while the initiative is helpful, it’s not a cure-all. Kinteh explains that it “offers diversified income, which is crucial when floods disrupt farming or small trading, enhances skills and economic resilience, and promotes community solidarity and agency.” However, challenges persist: “market size, access to capital, and the overwhelming amount of plastic.” He also highlights that policy plays a crucial role. “A ban on single-use plastics, similar to what Rwanda has done, would be a powerful complementary measure.” He elaborates that “this ban would tackle the flooding and pollution issues at their source, while initiatives like TQPIG address the existing waste and create job opportunities. One without the other is less effective.” He describes TQPIG as “an essential strategy for adaptation and resilience-building, but broader policy changes would enhance its success and sustainability.”
For other West African cities considering this approach to climate adaptation, several key elements need to be in place. Kinteh outlines them: “A strong partnership with Community-Based Organisations,” ideally involving “a women’s group or cooperative that has local trust and the ability to mobilise.” Next, there’s a need for “market analysis and product diversification” to cater to “local market preferences and needs, not just focusing on handbags, but potentially tiles, school kits, and more.”
Additionally, “basic startup training and capital” are necessary for “sewing machines, safety gear, and skills training,” along with a “connection to formal waste streams” through “collaboration with municipal authorities or private waste collectors to ensure a steady supply of clean plastic.” Lastly, “integrating climate finance” by “aligning the project with national adaptation priorities to tap into climate funds” is crucial.
Photo: House Collapsed in Fonkoi Kunda in CRR
Kinteh warns that the biggest risk is attempting this without government support. Without it, the initiative “runs the risk of being a small, isolated project with limited impact.” He highlights specific dangers: “The absence of legal protection” where artisans work “without formal contracts, waste handling licenses, or any legal recognition.”
Additionally, there’s “no access to public infrastructure,” which means they struggle to secure workspace, reliable utilities, or even get included in city-wide waste collection plans. Market access is also a challenge, as they face “difficulty accessing larger public procurement contracts or export markets.” The project becomes “vulnerable to shocks” and “could easily collapse if a key NGO donor withdraws, as there is no systemic support.” Plus, there’s the looming threat of “unregulated safety hazards,” which, as mentioned earlier, increases the risk for artisans with no oversight in place.
The Queen of Plastic Initiative Gambia is a groundbreaking, grassroots approach to creating a circular economy. It tackles plastic pollution, flood risks, and the economic vulnerability of women simultaneously.
Kinteh concludes by stating that, “its greatest potential is realised not as a standalone project, but as a core component of integrated waste management and climate adaptation.
Policies supported by legislation, like the plastic ban, are formalised through government partnership.”