‘No Food for Lazy Man’: Resilience, Ingenuity, and the Circular Economy of Agbogbloshie
Through his latest project, ‘No Food For Lazy Man’, Accra-based photographer SEANOKKAI. spotlights the resourceful community of Agbogbloshie, where global waste is repurposed into invaluable treasures.
In the heart of Accra, Ghana, amidst one of the world's largest e-waste dumps, SEANOKKAI.—the photographer and creative director behind OKKAI. CREATIVE STUDIO —has documented a compelling story of resilience, innovation, and transformation. Through his latest project, No Food For Lazy Man, Sean spotlights the resourceful community of Agbogbloshie, where global waste is repurposed into invaluable treasures.
Agbogbloshie, known as the largest open dumpsite in Accra, is more than a symbol of waste and environmental and health crises - as it is often described as. It is also home to a vibrant informal recycling economy, where thousands of individuals live and work, extracting value from what much of the world considers waste. It is a thriving hub of recyclers, innovators and creatives who are challenging the perception of waste. Here, old tyres become barbecues or footwear, scrap metal is harvested to make machines, copper and gold are meticulously separated from discarded electronics, and broken materials find new life in innovative ways.
Sean’s No Food For Lazy Man explores the intricate microeconomic systems that have developed around Agbogbloshie. It’s a powerful narrative of survival and ingenuity, where the community’s resourcefulness turns adversity into opportunity. “When you get to the end, you see the resourcefulness,” Sean explains. “There’s a solution for everything at Agbogbloshie.”.
The title of Sean’s project draws from a well-known Ghanaian saying among the working class: “No food for lazy man.” It infers that if one is not willing to work hard, one will never prosper. It’s a nod to the hard-working ethos of the Agbogbloshie community, whose relentless efforts embody the spirit of this phrase. These individuals, working on the front lines of waste management, do not seek pity or saving. Instead, Sean emphasises their need for support and visibility —investment in protective gear, scalable solutions, and sustainable infrastructure to ensure their safety and amplify their impact. The incredible ingenuity and vital waste management work of the Agbogbloshie community must be acknowledged and recognised.
““We need scale, visibility,” Sean asserts. “People are already empowered; they don’t need ‘saving.’ They need masks, support, investment, and equipment to continue doing the incredible upcycling in a safe and scalable environment.””
Sean’s lens recently captured another critical moment in Accra: the devastating aftermath of the Kantamanto Market fire on January 1st, which destroyed nearly nine acres of the market, according to The Or Foundation. This recent tragedy, displacing thousands of traders and destroying vital livelihoods, underscores the vulnerability of informal economies and the need for support systems and investment to rebuild and thrive. With 15 million items of secondhand clothing arriving each week, Kantamanto is a vital actor in the secondhand clothing trade and a powerful representation of a resilient circular economy, with incredible ingenuity and innovation driving forward reuse, upcycling and repurposing of discarded clothes. Sean’s documentation of the devastating fire’s aftermath, as well as his work in Agbogbloshie, depicts a vivid picture of resilience across Accra’s communities.
Through No Food For Lazy Man, Sean encourages us to see beyond the waste and pollution, to recognise the ingenuity and hard work of those creating value in the face of immense challenges. In a world grappling with waste and sustainability, Agbogbloshie stands as a testament to creativity and perseverance.