Three Lives of One Exercise Book: The Cost-Saving Wisdom of Kampala Mothers

The secret of tailor Adiya

In Kasese Market in Kampala, Adiya’s tailor stall always has a string of colorful paper hanging on it. When you get closer, you will find that it is a word card cut from the inner pages of an exercise book, with the English word “needle” on the front and the Luganda word “ekisibo” on the back.

“It costs 3,000 shillings (0.8 US dollars) to buy a new notebook,” she took out an old one to demonstrate the stitching, “but if you tear it apart, you can make cards for the children, account books, and even fire starters-”
She rolled up the remaining paper and stuffed it into a tin can: “It’s not afraid of getting wet when making a fire in the rainy season.”

Discarded blanks: Silent waste in African classrooms
When we collected old exercise books at a primary school in Kampala, mathematics teacher Joseph opened a discarded homework:

📖 11 pages out of 32 were completely blank

📖 Only half of 17 pages were written
“It’s not that the children were wasting,” he pointed to the students practicing calligraphy in the sand pit, “it’s that they dare not make corrections on the ‘precious’ books.”

Colorfly’s answer:

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A breathing stitch
Ordinary exercise book │ Colorflycirculation book
Page tearing = destruction │ Pulling the thread will give you 38 separate sheets of paper
Waves when encountering tide │ Corn starch coating resists rainy season
Rough edges cut fingers │ Laser-cut edges are as smooth as silk │
(Feedback from trial by middle school students in Kisumu: time to tear the book down changed from 30 minutes to 3 minutes)

Moms’ rebirth magic
First life → Anti-fall word cards
Materials: Old shoelaces + Charcoal pen

Pull out the stitches and spread out the inner pages

Fold in half and tear into poker size

Write English on the front and mother tongue on the back

Aditya’s trick: Apply mango glue to the edges to prevent wear

Second life → Moisture-proof account book
Materials: Rusty nails + Flour paste

Collect 20 single pages and flatten them

Heat the iron nail to make two holes

Tie the shoelaces crosswise and knot them

Actual test in the rainy season: the flour paste does not disperse when it comes into contact with water after it dries

Third life → portable fire starter can

Materials: empty cans + scraps of paper

Tightly stuff the shredded paper roll into the can

Drip palm oil to soak

Seal the mouth with linen for later use

The survival wisdom of Entebbe fishermen: burn for 10 minutes

Rebirth plan for old paper: let waste paper grow wings
When the paper burns out of its last value, please give it to Cai Yang:

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🌍 1. Collect 5 scraps → send to the church/school recycling box (red label bucket)
♻️ 2. Mix sisal fiber and beat → strengthen into recycled paper
📚 3. Every 10 kg of old paper = donate 1 new exercise book to rural schools

2024 Footprints:

Uganda: 572 books received by Kayunga Orphanage

Kenya: 1,200 books donated to Kibera Slum School

[Photo: Children hold up recycled books with the name of the recycler “Adiya” printed on the cover]

The birth of the Mutual Aid Society for Moms

When the women in Mbarara discovered Adiya’s “three lives” secret, they began to:

✅ Exchange transformation tools at the monthly market (nails for hemp rope)

✅ Share waterproof formula (cassava flour + palm oil)

✅ Joint bargaining for bulk purchase of exercise books

“The money for buying one book now,” Adiya shook the account book, “can be used for three books in the past.”

Call for action:

[Kraft paper texture button] 🔗 Download “African Mom Transformation Manual” for free

(including fire-proof formula/recycling point map/bulk purchase discount code)

Real Q&A (from Kampala market)

Q: What if the recycling point is too far away?

Adiya: We cooperate with motorcycle couriers. Call 📞0800-RECYCLE for free door-to-door collection (only in Uganda)

Q: Are recycled books really durable?

Teacher Joseph: Kibera School used it for 8 months. It is more tear-resistant than ordinary books-because it contains sisal fiber!

Q: How to punch holes without nails?

Tips from the Mothers’ Mutual Aid Association: Use bicycle spokes to sharpen them and hammer holes

Q: How much more expensive is Caiyang’s recycled book?

Caiyang promises: The same price as ordinary exercise books on the market, and a 10% discount for bulk purchases

Copyright statement:
The survival wisdom in the article belongs to African mothers, and Colorfly only organizes it.