The Environment – under our care
Olonde Omondi has taken up his wicked pens to address the environment, deforestation, poaching, pollution and recycling. If you are an editor and would like a higher quality copy of an image, please contact us via the contact page. To commission new work contact smudgetrial2@yahoo.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Report by: Tracy Mukami Kimathi.
Many people perceive environmental conservation as anti-development as well as cost-consuming. This holiday, I personally set out to prove this notion wrong by carrying out a few simple experiments that embrace the well known 4Rs that we environmentalists look up to. I then discovered a new term known as ‘upcycling’, which according to Wikipedia refers to the ‘process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless and/or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value’. In simpler terms it’s the reuse of discarded objects so as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original.
As the title also implies, I wanted to ensure the processes were simple enough to silence the idea that ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover’ is a complex and unmanageable affair. Once my little brother, whom you will see in the illustrations, saw my experiments, he quickly joined me. He proved it to be a fun experience that children all around the world can enjoy, without being forced, and without grumbles. As a result, I consider this report to open doors to a new generation of people who will find environmental conservation to be a joy, not a burden, as the previous and current generations portray it.
The main focus of this report is upcycling, it demonstrates profit gain, simple profit gain, cheap profit gain, and reusable profit gain. I basically reinvented old materials as items that can be reintroduced to the market with added value. Buyers can appreciate the handmade effort to personalize the items, thus adding value to its creative nature.
So now that we’ve explored the definitions and base of this article, let’s see the fun and easy ways to contribute to the restoration of our beautiful, spectacular, amazing, stunning, astounding, breathtaking (and so on) planet.
TOILET PAPER ROLL CRAFTS.
Materials Needed.
Procedure.
TWINE WRAPPED WINE/WHISKEY BOTTLES.
Materials.
Step 1, 2 and 3 repeated
It doesn’t matter how badly off the bottle is. The yarn will cover the bottle fully, giving it a completely new appearance. This was the best upcycle example I created, turning a completely discarded material into an item that can be resold to consumers who’d appreciate the personalized item as a gift. (Take note Jameson and other famous brands 🙂
Procedure.
Decorate the finished bottle with buttons or jewellery or any other reusable material
LAST BUT NOT LEAST …
PLASTIC INSPIRED ANIMAL FLOWER POTS.
Materials
Procedure.
Let your little helper wash out the bottle and remove the label. He chose for me the animal type too 🙂
Cut out the animal shape with scissors, NT cutter or craft knife (carefully). Our chosen animal was a cat.
The cut out results.
Happy New Year-2016!! Not everything of 2015 will be discarded:
Cat design as per bottle’s circumference measurement.
Finished Results
PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING.
Studies show that people are exposed to chemicals from plastics multiple times per day through the air, dust, water, food and use of consumer products. The chemicals are absorbed by the human body causing hormone alterations. Plastic ingested by animals injures or poisons them, and plastics disposed of in landfills leach harmful chemicals that further danger human health.
Plastics are a major pollutant and the damage grows due to their easy affordability and availability. According to Wikipedia, plastics contribute to approximately 10% of discarded waste. Between 60% and 80% of all marine litter consist of plastics (Derraik, 2002). Most economies don’t prioritize the issue of waste management and the low level of funding that does go to the issue is taken by corruption, this mostly happens in developing countries. In developed countries waste is known to contain mostly inorganic compounds (plastics being a large portion), as compared to developing countries that record mostly organic products. The blame is on everyone.
One cannot however stop the production of plastics as they are important in the modern age. It has uses in packaging, hospital equipment, and new studies that encourage plastics for home construction are readily emerging. If properly recycled, we can live with plastics without encouraging environmental and health damage. But if not managed, the multiple decade lifespans of plastics will kill our planet.
Recycling and upcycling can create immense job opportunities, from the stakeholders of solid waste disposal to the craftsmanship of the individuals reconstructing the items. In the project displayed above, I used less than 500ksh to buy the tools and materials that can return thousands in profit, as well as help in environmental conservation. The low income majority and the unemployed can create job opportunities for themselves by selling these items. Did I mention that they all took less than an hour in preparation?
IN CONCLUSION.
-The materials I used are cheap and unemployed individuals can make and sell these items, investing as little as 500ksh as start up capital.
-The materials can be used for decorative, as well as utilitarian purposes in a household
– Schools can involve children in such projects, as they are easy to make and highly informative
-Companies can adopt such upcycling methodology. This will help in solid waste management, as well as limiting landfill developments.
Report by: Tracy Mukami Kimathi.
Contact Information: tracykamy@gmail.com, +254 712 950183
The global environment is changing at a rate never seen before. With the human population already at seven billion and still continuing to expand, especially in Africa, Asian countries and Latin America, things cannot remain the same. Our urban centres and cities are suffering from overcrowding as more people are moving to towns to seek a better life. With this comes all manner of pollution. Solid waste menace is one of them. Municipalities are having a tough time coping with huge volumes of solid waste generated on a daily basis. These wastes end up in dumping sites; where there is little or no recycling done on them. The result is an environment that is highly polluted .Use of plastic bags has aggravated the situation further since they are not biodegradable.
Nations are struggling to feed their populations. Hunger and malnutrition is still lingering on, one year after the Millennium Development Goals expired.The Sustainable Development Goals are now on course. The purpose is to enable implementation of sustainable development agenda post 2015.It calls on nations to realign their development objectives with environmental conservation and management, so that adverse environmental damages are tackled while ensuring improved living standards for the people. Will the Sustainable Development Goals work? How are they going to be implemented? Will nations manage to fund these projects on their own, especially the developing countries?
Meanwhile, climate change is already a reality. Precipitation patterns, distribution and quantities have changed considerably. It is no longer easy to predict rainfall as before. Droughts and floods are common. It is a case of extremes. There is also global temperature rise which is melting ice sheets at the poles and on The Alps, The Everest. Result is sea level rise that is threatening the future of islands and low-lying coastal areas. Stabilizing these temperatures will require a lot of cooperation from all the countries, whether big or small, developed or developing. It will definitely take centuries before results are realized. Sacrifices will have to be made and above all, humans will have to adapt to the changes. How do we for instance, build our homes to withstand these extremes? Would a country like Kenya manage to feed its citizens when rains fail completely? Have we built the capacities of the most vulnerable people in our society, such as those living in arid and semi arid areas? Do they have alternative sources of livelihood other than pastoralism?How about our dependence on hydroelectric power, would we manage to power our homes and industries if water levels in our dams reached the lowest levels, or possibly dried out completely?
Tackling environmental challenges of the 21st century and beyond should concern every government, multilateral corporations, donor agencies and not to forget people like you and me. We all have a role to play. Our environment needs us, but we need it the most.
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bosuri18@gmail.com/bosuri@yahoo.com _ 0723 692048
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Beryl is a fourth year student at Maasai Mara University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science (specializing in environmental conservation and management). She is the current secretary of Maasai Mara University Wildlife and Environmental Club.
During her attachment at Nairobi City County, department of environment, she got exposed to the environmental challenges facing the city of Nairobi and how they are being tackled. She had the opportunity to work in environmental planning and management, solid waste management and the parks departments of the county office.
SAIH – The Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund are at it again at rustyradiator.com 🙂
In their video, did you recognize any familiar stereotypes about how the African continent tends to be portrayed, and the image of the “white hero” and the “exotic other”?
Hunger and poverty is ugly, and it calls for action. However, they argue, that we need to create engagement built on knowledge, not stereotypes. We need to change the way fundraising campaigns are communicating issues of poverty and development. This is why they are awarding creative fundraising campaigns with the Golden Radiator Award, and stereotypical campaigns with the Rusty Radiator Award. An international jury has nominated seven videos, and the winners are chosen through an internet poll. What are you waiting for? Go and vote now.
Not sure how to vote? Read a little Binyavanga Wainaina first to get you in the mood.
Olonde Omondi offers 4 more images with a hard-hitting environmental theme. Olonde Omondi has a Diploma in Graphic Design and enjoys expressing himself in a variety of styles all based on realistic interpretation of our world. Major areas of interest include cartoons and caricature, graphic art and illustration as well as painting. Art history and poetry also play substantial roles in his art.
This work by Olonde Omondi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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