“Innovation is the key driver to make changes in the community”
This week we introduce to you an environmental activist and social entrepreneur, Liberatha Kawamala. Her business Libe Green Innovation is one of the International partners of the World Angel Investment Forum. That’s why her adventure is also a success story that will inspire women in her country;
Can you briefly tell us about The Libe Green Innovation?
The Business aims to strengthen its initiatives also put in force sustainable systems of waste collection, segregation, treatment and recycling along with controlled, systematic, and creative ways of reducing waste generation across the country of Tanzania.
What are the services and who do you work with?
Collection, segregation, and recycling of waste plastic bottles into valuable products such as pellets and flakes that involves community engagement through waste pickers but also schools environmental clubs platform that will simplify the way of a collection of plastic services. It is going to be a community- based, recycling process to produce quality products for our clients that facilitate waste management in Tanzania Dar es Salaam.
Why environmental innovation…
For sustainable environment we need to have different innovation in the field to solve environmental problem deals, In fact, that Approximately 2% of the urban population in Tanzania that make living in collecting, sorting, recycling and selling materials that someone else has thrown away. There is a growing recognition that waste pickers contribute to the local economy, to public health and safety, and to environmental sustainability. However, they often face low social status, deplorable living and working conditions, and little support from local governments. In the context of waste management and recycling, inclusive recycling projects entail developing business models that integrate the activities and work of often informal waste pickers and their organizations into the value chain. This, in a manner that improves waste-pickers economic and social outcomes, generates solutions to municipalities and citizens and involves companies along the value chain: from waste management to recycling and consumer businesses. Hence innovation is the key driver to make changes in the community and more solving environmental challenges on the other side helping the community to value trash.
Can you tell us about the difficulties experienced by environmental activists?
The most experienced difficulties are lack of facilities to run the activities which made some of the activists to work in hard conditions and mostly to delay doing some of the activities and so by that, they need government support, Partnership with other organization /company.
The other challenge is to be ignored in the community and seems to be not the right place for them to attend their activities hence are limited to attend some activities.
How is the pandemic affected your project have you followed a different strategy in this process?
The Pandemic has really affected our programs and other initiatives to our project as we had to gather people for a Trash fashion show and some other activities and so we had to host the programs online and ask people to watch online.
Hence due to that, we came up with having youtube channels our social Media that goes to Libe green innovation so that we could continue with the program online without causing the spread of the disease. But also we used social media to mobilize people to be keener and use biodegradable packages and due to fresh food shopping so that to reduce the amount of waste in homes.
You were in Turkey/Istanbul last year. For which reason were you there and what did you tell people?
Yes, actually its this year in February went to Istanbul and I was among the 100 startups selected to attend the Global Fundraising Congress in Turkey Istanbul from my country Tanzania which is under World Business Angel Investment Forum (WBAF). Hence I went to Istanbul for Pitching about Libe Green Innovation works in protecting nature and how we can get investors and stakeholders to work with us to spread the word.
And what I mentioned to people is the importance of investing in the environmental sector and its business opportunity so that are the ambassador of change.
How about your next projects?
Libe green Innovation projects are sustainable to create awareness in the community so we have Waste collection projects and Recycling projects but also the other one being Trash fashion show which we planning to do it again in the Next year 2021.
“Responses to the given social problems must be related to the socio-cultural realities in Africa”
What are the essentials of social work practice in Africa?
Social Work Practice in Africa. Indigenous and Innovative Approaches is based on the notion that social work can only be meaningful and effective if it provides context-specific and tangible responses to the given social problems in African countries. These responses must be related to the socio-cultural realities in Africa. Owing to the over-dependence of social work education and practice on Western models in many African countries, there is a dire need for research on what we call indigenous and innovative practice models. Empirically based evidence of such models is the key for the profession to be capable of meeting the challenges of contemporary, ever-changing societies on the African continent.
