ECOaction

SFA partner Reagan Kandole founded a Waste Management Education Project “ECOaction” where he engages the youth and the community in handling waste

We’re a registered environmental, non-profit organization, currently located and operating within in Banda, one of Kampala’s slum areas.  Since 2011 we support disadvantaged youths and women from this area, through multiple activities, aiming to build sustainable livelihoods as well as new and additional income opportunities.

Over the last seven years, our main beneficiaries and partners have been a group of garbage collectors, who lived in the Banda area. This community consists of 106 individuals, mainly single mothers and children, who collect and sort garbage, like plastic bottles or scrap metal, for saleable items. For specific activities, the group was always joined by several other, unemployed youths from the area. Some of the activities carried out have been: engaging in urban farming (kitchen gardens and poultry); briquette making from biodegradable waste; composting; greenhouse construction; construction of children’s playgrounds; building bathroom shelters out of plastic bottles; public art installations; school libraries or conduction of waste management workshops.

The outcomes, especially given the very few available resources, have been impressive and have led to a significant improvement of the livelihoods of the involved people and their environments. Unfortunately our community was then suddenly displaced in 2017, as the landlord decided to develop the land and evicted everybody within a week of notice. Since then the community members are dispersed and live under extremely vulnerable situations.

But this unforeseen event also gave us, as a very young organization, the chance to evaluate and review our structures and processes. To learn from the experiences we’ve made and to identify the necessary steps to sustainably implement the concept of Zero Waste and make it available to everybody. Because our vision includes, but yet goes far beyond, the improvement of individual livelihoods. Our goal is to create an environmental movement in Uganda which promotes the benefits of an eco-friendly society beyond trash, and where empowered and responsible citizens live in harmony with their environment.

Vision Statement:

An empowered and responsible society where citizens live in harmony with their environment, while sustainably creating new job opportunities for the most marginalized urban youth and women through innovation in waste management

Mission Statement:

Creating an environmental movement in Uganda which promotes the benefits of an eco-friendly society beyond trash through capacity development, community empowerment, innovation and partnerships across sectors.

For more information and for more colourful and creative photos check out the ECOaction

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ECOaction-52417579767297 
• Follow Reagan on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kandole_reagan/