In our recent be Waste Wise webinar on rural waste management we learned about two very effective models:
🏝️ Yayasan Rijig Pradana Wetan in Indonesia, with Diana Luckyta Sari
🏜️ The Barefoot College (Social Work and Research Centre) in India, with Gurpreet Singh
Shared takeaways:
🤝 It always pays to listen – systems that are co-created with the local community really work.
⚡ Local leadership is key – “leading by example” helps boost participation and fee collection.
🥼 Everyone trusts their doctor – engage health workers to raise awareness and help stop open dumping and burning.
🐐 Focus on immediate impacts – where people rear animals, they are receptive to messages about plastic litter harming their herd (and threatening their income).
♻️ Use waste to make products that local people will buy, for example using food waste for:
– Black Soldier Fly larvae to rear fish or chickens 🐛🐟🐔🥚
– Compost to grow a kitchen garden and medicinal plants 🌱🍒🪴⚕️
👷♀️ Create dignified jobs in resource recovery to help bring about social change – formalised jobs, health insurance etc. can make a huge difference for entire families.
Congratulations once again to our speakers for a fantastic job, and thank you to everyone for the lively conversation.
Villages might be small but they are mighty! 🏋♀️