The Rose of Sharon Foundation (RoSF) has launched a waste-to-wealth initiative to empower widows with income-generating skills and promote environmental sustainability.

The five-day Enterprise Development Training Programme targets widows, their children and orphans, equipping participants with the skills to convert discarded PET bottles, cartons, paint buckets and fabric scraps into marketable household and fashion products. A second phase of the programme will focus on producing charcoal from agricultural waste as a sustainable alternative to conventional charcoal.

The training combines classroom sessions with practical demonstrations, enabling participants to transform waste materials into useful products while receiving guidance on establishing sustainable businesses.

The Foundation’s Coordinator, Oloruntosin Taiwo, said the initiative was conceived to address both environmental challenges and the economic needs of widows and orphans. “We have witnessed increasing climate-related challenges, so we asked ourselves what skills we could teach beneficiaries that would enable them to earn an income while protecting the environment,” she said.

Taiwo noted that discarded PET bottles and other waste materials often clog drainage channels, contributing to flooding and environmental degradation.

She explained that beneficiaries are expected to begin producing items from readily available waste materials after the training, adding that the Foundation would monitor their progress and determine whether additional support or advanced training would be required.

During the practical sessions, participants transformed discarded paint buckets, PET bottles, cartons and fabric scraps into upholstered stools, picture frames, hand fans, fashion accessories and other household items, demonstrating the commercial value of materials often regarded as waste.

Founder and Creative Director of Arayii (This Wonder), Ayomide Amusan, said technical skills alone were insufficient to build a successful waste-to-wealth enterprise, stressing the importance of entrepreneurship and marketing. “Beyond acquiring the skill, you need to understand the business behind it. You must know how to market your products and position them for customers,” she said.

Amusan added that although sustainability is at the heart of waste-to-wealth enterprises, entrepreneurs should prioritise producing attractive, high-quality products that meet consumers’ needs. “Customers are first attracted by quality and functionality before they consider what the product is made from,” she added.

One of the facilitators, founder of Green Matex, Sidiqoh Matesun-Raji, encouraged participants to leverage social media, referrals and exhibitions to market their products, noting that waste-to-wealth businesses require relatively little start-up capital.

One of the participants, Ijeoma Nwaogwugwu, said the training had changed her perception of waste materials, adding that the skills acquired would enable her to establish a home-based business using inexpensive and readily available recyclable materials.