JEDDAH, 17 February 2005 — Turning trash into cash, women from the African Continent are making money from nothing. How they do it seems to most people an unbearable way of living.

These self-supporting working women don’t mind the stinking garbage we do not want to get near; neither does our society classify them as beggars. These professional scavengers do not have time to beg. They are focused on one thing and one thing only that is making a respectable living to support themselves and their families out of the trash dumpsters dotting the streets of Jeddah.

These women have large but well-defined territories, and each one of them has her own daily rounds.

Muhammad ibn Hadi, a 26-year-old Saudi resident, said that two of the women, Haja Habibah and Haja Aisha, had been in his neighborhood for as long as he could remember. “They visit our homes, attend our weddings and share our grief; we simply consider them family.”

Some of the more experienced women go door to door in neighborhoods asking for old or unfashionable clothes or any items of possible value. They cover more ground at a faster pace than even a well-organized marketing company could do.

“They pass by my house every afternoon with one question: ‘Do you have old clothes for charity?’” said Umm Muhammad, a housewife who lives with her husband and two children in the Old Airport district.

She added that when they moved to their new district, at first she didn’t have any old clothes to give away, but due to the collectors’ daily persistence, she started telling friends and family about their visits and suggested that if they had old clothes for charity, then she had the right contact to give them to.

“From then up to now, I have managed to give them large plastic trash bags full of used clothing on a monthly basis,” said Umm Muhammad.

Gathering the clothes and discards is one end of the process; the other is selling the stock. Every Friday at 5 a.m. — while officials from the Baladia are still asleep, and the shops in the Al-Sawarikh area in south Jeddah have their shutters down — hundreds of African women gather in the street and set out their wares.

Their customers come from all parts of the world, their most regular customers being from the Philippines, Syria, India and, of course, a huge number of supportive Africans.

“You can find brand names in good shape for incredibly cheap prices,” one Filipino customer told Arab News.

Walking into the used clothes market is like crossing into an African village. Small mountains of clothes are scattered in the street as far as the eye can see.

Clothes are not the only goods for sale. Anything scavenged is up for grabs, from large home appliances to needles. With industrial raw materials, such as cotton and plastic for SR4 a bag, a washing machine for SR25 — no guarantees, however, even a well used and severely dented jarat foul, a container for cooking beans, there are bargains galore.

Any used clothing item of whatever size, brand name or type is priced at SR2 each — and that includes the cleaning fee.

“We work all week gathering items for one day — Friday payday. I have been in the business for years, and, Alhamdulillah, it pays well,” said Halima, a 43-year-old Nigerian independent working woman.

Some women have formed joint ventures with Pakistanis, Indians and other male colleagues who take care of the transportation of goods, setting the stands and tailoring and fixing damaged items.

The lively trade and the fact that it has lasted for many years suggests that it is a viable existence for a group of people, mainly unsupported women, who otherwise would need state support or simply starve.