Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

It was recycle day here.

Does anyone else find it hard to believe that we are having to teach our children, grandchildren and yes, even ourselves, to reduce what we have, reuse what we can and recycle the rest? That is of course unless you happen to have been raised by parents who happened to live through the Depression and were taught from a young age to think about these things.

My friends in Zambia don't have many of these problems. They have very little to begin with, so not much they can reduce, but reuse and recycle? They certainly understand that! Make-do, That is an understatement!  If you need lessons on any of these points, you need to travel to Africa.. If they have an an old paint can? My goodness, that's useful for so many things....It can be used at the market as a measure for fish or beans or how about to make bricks for your house? Found some used cooking oil bottles? An enterprising person can earn a living buying large conatiners of oil, dividing it up into those smaller bottles and selling it for a profit.

                                                      Children who don't have toys make 

                                                      their own out of what is available.

A plastic lid makes a nifty camera,  bags 

upon bags, wound together make a great soccer ball that will last about 3 months.

And those wonderful, wonderful Maizie bags! They must have 1001 uses.

I saw them  poking out at the sides of roads, not as refuse, but filled and used to build up the sides of the roads. They are used for shade, for sitting or sleeping upon, for storage, to dress up in while participating in a play, or as part of a larger bag, woven to hold charcoal for sale. They are even woven into nets for basketball games.

And if you happen to spot a beautiful blue suagr bag at the side of the road....well you can just take that baby home, wash it out, cut it into strips and chrochet yourself a little blue bag!

No extra, unneeded stuff, no wasting things, everything is precious; perhaps that's why in Zambia I saw very little litter. Not like countries where there is to much and it's so taken for granted that excess is just thrown out the car window, instead of taken home and put in the garbage or recycle bin. Yes, I think we have a lot to learn from our cousins in Africa.

Oh yeah, don't forget to turn off the lights as you leave the room, and shut that door quickly behind you, your letting all the heat out.
photos courtesy of Kathy Munkley, Brooke Wrightly, Chris Schroeder, Colin & Christy Zacharias