Waste to Wealth — Street Project Foundation
2019–2022 · Abuja, Nigeria
A multi-year arts and crafts programme that used upcycling as a vehicle for youth empowerment, environmental education, and creative development.
Waste to Wealth was developed in partnership with the Street Project Foundation in Abuja, Nigeria, as part of a broader commitment to using art as a tool for social change. The programme ran from 2019 to 2022, reaching hundreds of young people across the city.
At its core, the curriculum challenged participants to look at everyday waste — plastic bottles, fabric offcuts, discarded wire — and see not rubbish, but raw material. Through guided projects, participants learned practical upcycling techniques while developing broader skills in creative thinking, problem-solving, and environmental stewardship.
The programme also mentored a cohort of emerging young artists who went on to exhibit their work publicly, demonstrating that sustainability and artistry are not mutually exclusive — they are deeply intertwined.
Waste to Wealth remains a foundational part of Ife's community practice, directly informing the approach she brings to her current workshop programmes in Colchester.
This programme changed the way I see everything around me. I started noticing possibility where I used to see waste.— Programme participant, Abuja