Recycling of Charcoal Briquettes from waste materials

Youth environment Service is implementing a project on waste sanitation and management in Busia Municipality, Busia District.   In tandem with reduction of waste load that comes from the main market commonly known for ‘produce’, households, and from the waste link agents, the organization saw it imperative to recycle some of the waste instead of it being dumped in corridors which had made the situation precarious. Secondly, the project will create employment to the young people, increase on house hold income hence reduction on poverty, and enable self sustainability by the Village Environment Committees (VEC). The whole process started with a vigorous training which involved the Village Environment Committees (VEC) and some of the organization field staffs who will go ahead and train the rest of the members.  

Make sure you tighten well this bolt. The facilitator Silvia Naigaga from ARTI seems to be instructing the trainees

Let us also try out on our own. The trainees seem to be mentioning as they assemble the machine equipment.

Trainees assembling the briquette making machine

 The waste of maize cobs, dry leaves, waste papers, charcoal dust, banana peelings and dry grass is expected to tremendously reduce in the town in the shortest time to come. A serious hunt for them will proceed as more and more briquettes will be produced.

Waste sorting going on

Filling the Kiln with the waste raw material

Waste combustion

The charcoal briquettes products will reduce on cutting down of trees since charcoal briquettes will be on market hence environment conservation. It will also be used for cooking and heating by many communities in the informal settlement to boil their drinking water.

The process will also motivate food production since there will be need for more raw materials.

Busia Uganda-Impact of ecological police of the village environment committee (VEC) shows improvement in promoting the role of communities in waste and sanitation management:

The town of Busia in Eastern Uganda faces many challenges, including of a rapid shift in its solid waste management systems; new technologies (composting, and landfilling) will be introduced in late 2012, while actual waste collection is still struggling to provide a hygienic environment to its inhabitant.

The goal of YES in waste management is the protection of human health and environment, where resource conservation) can be reached.

Community voices, sustainable development and policy reforms in implementing MDG7, target 9 the need for increased commitment in policy enforcement  and improved good governance in waste and sanitation management.While leaders who discussed MDGs have articulated what to be done, the questions remains unanswered in cross border towns sharing common trans-boundary problems, where many people are still learning how to achieve this goal without policy harmonisation. YES is not waiting for the direction but to develop strategies to contribute towards the MDG related goals.

In its project of urban waste and sanitation project we are trying to help support 10 villages improve waste  and sanitation management through community participation and strengthening systems by providing community basic services regarding mobilization, education and promoting community autonomy to manage waste and sanitation issues affecting them at household level.

 The approach will improve the community institutional arrangements for waste management; mobilize communities to construct toilets in residences and in schools, and increase efficient solid collection by Busia Municipal council.

The service volunteers of YES register all homes without toilets, and later provide sanitation, hygiene education and counseling to households and landlords to help them make informed decisions and interest to have better sanitary facilities using the WASH chain cards.(Above)

The plight of toilets:

In Marachi “A”B”C”D” Villages in Busia Municipality, it’s one of the villages YES organisation is promoting the role of communities in waste and sanitation management.

   

Many households don’t have toilets and our research found that women use the toilet facilities mainly at night when the privacy is guaranteed especially homes with this kind of structures.

  The project results will  improve the quality of water in the municipality both surface and underground water by reducing huge waste flow in the water streams.

Rapid population growth, urbanization, and growing challenges of poverty faced by the urban poor in informal settlements and cross border towns require redefining the paradigm for public health interventions by creating new approaches that put  urban environment determinants of health into consideration, with the goal of  meeting the health needs of the community in Busia municipal council, the cross- border communities in the border town needs massive efforts towards promoting behavior change attitudes and practice where communities and the municipal council can work together and recognize that there are problems of increasing  evidence of poor  waste, sanitation and hygiene in the first place,(ii) and work towards community understanding the challenge as either manageable or not; both at individual household level, community level and local government institutional level;(iii) above all ,the involvement of stakeholders to recognize the challenges in a cooperative way is a prerequisite.(iv) the comunity can identify workable solutions and options to address the challenges both as an institution under local government and as individuals and communities for the case of urban town like Busia.

 

Below community members debating on during meeting at border primary school organized by YES, the town Clerk, Mayor and other stakeholders attended.

The community and other stakeholders can agree, develop and design plans for project implementation, when they both recognize the challenge within the community they reside and start implementing the plan regarding water management and environmental health in the neighborhood.

                                  

 Below comunities participating in cleaning the water source (Chairman Village Environment committee.
                                

The positive actions the community and other stakeholders have implemented can be maintained by both at cooperative level for the success of the issues identified such as poor storage, disposal, transportation, collection and general awareness’s and debate on waste management,sanitation and hygiene.

The community can also agree to sustain the decision for long term impact and environmental sustainability and for the good of the community.

The village environment committee members observe how the woman was getting  dirty water from the only stream in Nagunke in Mawero East A village. 

                       

The Youth environment service volunteers conduct WASH dissemination education and group counseeling in Marachi villages,YES achievements and efforts in the comunity has been succesfully through building the capacity of its volunteers in comunity mobilisation and education dynamics. 

Promoting the capacity of local communities in urban water and sanitation governance (Pro-CUWaS)

 Youth Environment Service Busia in partnership with Uganda water and sanitation network( UWASNET) funded by DANIDA-Uganda of the Royal Danish Embassy is implementing a project of Promoting the Capacity of Local Communities in Urban Water and Sanitation Governance in partnership with Busia Municipality targeting ten villages.

The project officer WASH programe conducts community meetings in the selected villages

Various activities are being conducted in the ten selected project villages.This include Sensitization of landlords on their roles and responsibilities in Water sanitation and hygiene management, Conduct awareness meeting in the selected villages

Conduct training for stakeholders in good governance on WASH/WES. Organize village local council trainings on participatory planning, budgeting and monitoring.

below the municipal council mayor is addressing the communities during the village meeting in Mawero East "B"

 Left section of the community attending meeting;
the local council chairperson,the village environment committee and the local councilors plan the village meeting in consultation with the project officer WASH and develop monthly workshedules for programe implementation.

Other activities include,

• Conduct sensitization and education seminar for landlords and tenants .
• Training of law enforcement officers,LC1s and the sanitation improvement committees.
• Carry out project documentation and reporting.
• Establish school WASH committees/clubs in project area.
• Organize monthly WASH and village committee meetings.
• Conduct radio talk shows.
• Develop test and print IEC materials.
• Conduct participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation.  

The governance tools used is basically on Good governance and advocacy where community issues through meetings are identified, and sets of solutions that are technically and socially fit in the context of community needs are put on desk for debate and action.