What do you see when you look at a pile of discarded plastic sachets?
For Nigerian architect and environmental entrepreneur Intissar Bashir Kurfi, they were an opportunity to build something useful.
Intissar is the founder of Ifrique Eco Solutions, a Nigerian enterprise transforming discarded plastic waste, including sachet water packaging, into interlocking tiles and other useful products.
Her work tackles plastic pollution while exploring how waste can become a valuable resource.
And the impact is measurable.
- 625,000 discarded water sachets used to produce interlocking bricks
- 1,250+ interlocking bricks produced
- 50+ people empowered through Ifrique Eco Solutions, with women and young people accounting for 95% of those reached, according to its 2023 impact report.
Her work demonstrates how an environmental challenge can inspire a practical, locally developed solution. But Intissar's story goes beyond the numbers. It shows what can happen when someone looks at a problem differently. Plastic waste becomes a raw material. A raw material becomes a building product. And an environmental challenge becomes an opportunity to create value.
Her journey is a reminder that sustainability isn't only about keeping waste out of the environment. It is also about rethinking the materials we use, creating opportunities and finding new value in what we throw away.
Across Nigeria, people are developing practical solutions to environmental challenges. Their stories deserve to be seen, shared and celebrated.
Who is another African sustainability innovator whose story deserves to be told?