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Fishmonger cleans freshly fished omena before drying at Dunga beach in Kisumu.[File, Standard]
At Obunga in Kisumu, piles of discarded fish bones and scales that were once regarded as worthless waste are finding a new purpose in an unlikely place; jewellery and decorative art.
For years, fish remains generated from processing and smoking have been left on open ground or around fish-processing areas, where they rot, attract flies and other scavengers and, during rains, can be washed into Lake Victoria.
But 73-year-old Norah Agwata sees something different. To her, the bones of Nile perch are not rubbish. They are raw materials that can be cleaned, dried and transformed into earrings, necklaces, pendants and other ornaments, while fish scales can be turned into colourful flowers and decorative designs.
