32/365: Trash to Cash

32/365: Trash to Cash, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

On our last full day in Tanzania, we visited Shanga, one of the few facilities in the country for training the handicapped. It's run on a shoestring, but that may be why it is successful. The deaf, the blind and people with various mobility issues use traditional looms to spin some of the best cloth items we saw in the country. The workers not only get training in making their crafts, but play a big role in the design of their artwork. But my favorite workshops were the outdoor forges where old bottles and broken glass were melted down and repurposed into glass beads, artwork, new glasses and jewelry. The workers were friendly but shy about having their pictures taken. So I took this picture of an old wheelbarrow -- probably reclaimed from somewhere -- and the sorted broken glass that will be pounded to small pieces, then melted down. If you find yourself in Arusha, do all your souvenir shopping at Shanga Workshops. It's a beautiful place with rolling green lawns where you can sip a beverage from their cafe and watch the work at the outdoor workshops.