Technik ohne Grenzen e.V.

Local waste management project - Students for Cameroon

About the Project

Project description

Waste is a well known problem in today´s society, while first world countries have the knowledge, technology and the money to deal with this problem, most third world countries don´t have these preconditions.

The increasing use of plastic in daily life and chemicals in agriculture as well as the lacking awareness of the importance of healthy ecosystems and biodiversity has led to serious global and local environmental issues, such as soil degradation, pollution and contaminated drinking water. As a result, it has negative impacts on human health and livelihoods.

Such conditions worry the locals of Fundong, a town in the North-West region of Cameroon, which is highly dependent on its agricultural sector.

We are three students from the TU Munich (Environmental planning and engineer ecology), working together with a local foundation, that wants to improve the waste management in their town.

Our objectives are:

• To provide knowledge about the importance of environmental protection and the effects of various environmental problems on different target groups (youths, adults, and specifically politicians)

• To provide knowledge about different types of waste management, in common households and on a larger scale

• To provide information about dealing with waste in a more sustainable way, and in everyday life

• To carry out a competition for young people, where they should come up with their own ideas in finding solutions for a cleaner environment

• To set up at least one pilot project for waste management, e.g. launching a composting project for the whole community (if more time/money is available, more projects can be carried out)

In August we will realize the first steps:

• different seminars will be held
- for young people
- for community members (adults)
- for local politicians (this will work as a follow-up seminar to the environmental awareness seminar from the year of 2014)

• starting waste separation with putting up new public dust bins
• clean-up with the locals in the form of a competition
• upcycling competition for the young people
• the pilot project(s) will be implemented with the help of the community. A seminar on managing the project will have to be held and a committee set up.

For realizing the workshops, competitions and recycling projects, we need your help. Give the community a chance to live in a cleaner town.