In Senegal, cloths hanging to dry in the sun are like Tibetan prayer flags. Their colors and designs spread beauty in what can be a very dirty place. The country’s dusty roads, trash, feces, and other objectionable sights are pleasantly lost in washs of bright blue, red, orange, and white. Tie dye and batik abound.

The women sitting on the ground scrubbing fist over fist in soapy buckets add just as much color. They talk with one another, greet people passing by, all the while making a chorus of suds squirting from their efforts.