Eco Solutions Forum Uganda

31/05/2017

Recycling glass into beautifully designed household items while providing sustainable livelihoods in Uganda
Good Glass is a social enterprise making an impact in two significant ways. The first is through the recycling of glass. Good glass saves tons of glass from filling up landfills, drainage ditches and streets and turn them into useful and beautiful household items. Secondly, they provide fair wage jobs to the unemployed so that they can afford to provide school fees for their children, doctors’ bills and three meals a day.
Many glass items such as wine and spirit bottles are not recyclable in Uganda. The result is excess garbage in already overflowing landfills. At Good Glass, they rescue a portion of this 'garbage' and turn it into unique and beautiful household items. Good Glass products are created using a truly green method that releases far less carbon emissions than traditional melting methods used in the glass recycling industry. They simply cut, sand and polish the bottles, using the existing shapes to re-purpose the bottles into household items and decorations, putting Good Glass at the forefront of eco-friendly glass recycling.

http://www.goodglassug.com/
https://www.facebook.com/GoodGlassUg/

12/05/2017

Uganda Stove Manufacturers Ltd (UGASTOVE) one of Uganda’s largest cookstoves distributor developed out of a small family stove making business in early 1980’s. Ugastove now distributes its energy-efficient cookstoves across Uganda through the Efficient Cooking with Ugastoves project Uganda Stove Manufacturers Ltd .UGASTOVE's mission is to improve the socio-economic condition of the urban poor by engaging them in sustainable, innovative, environmentally friendly economic activities. The project is based on pilot work in 2005 by the Urban Community Development Association of Kampala, Uganda (UCODEA). A stove manufacturing business with the name UGASTOVE Ltd. The stove subdivision of UCODEA began as a family business by the Kawere family as early as the 1980s. When the Kawere family decided to make stove building an organized business, they focused on two concerns: 1. stove business and 2. waste management. The stove business has since gained the support of other partners with similar interests in energy and the environment. They are currently implementing a two-year pilot project funded by the USEPA to develop the market for improved stoves in Uganda. This project is co-managed with Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD).
They actually produce and sale more than 8,000 cookstoves per month to improve the livelihood of the purest, to fight against poverty and against health problems caused by indoor air pollution. Recently they opened 3 branches in the northern part of Uganda to produce and sell stoves.
Ugastove produces an improved charcoal stove and a rocket wood stove for household use, and an institutional stove for use in hospitals and schools; community feedback during the initial design phase guided stove design to ensure improved cookstoves met the needs of consumers.
Please follow the links bellow to know more about Ugastove;
http://www.pciaonline.org/2011ForumAwards/uganda-stove-manufacturers-ltd-ugastove
https://climatecare.org/our-projects/ugastoves/

27/04/2017

The PAINT 2017 call for applications is open now please follow the link below for more information:
http://bspace.co.ug/paint-a-call-for-applications-from-ugandan-agripreneurs/

PAINT 2017’s call for applications is open! Are you a business person in the agribusiness sector and wish to be linked to buyers, suppliers and/or investors in form of equity financing, commodity financing, grants, loans or wish to have your products access markets? Do you fulfill the following requ...

27/04/2017

Local Partners who are implementing the Switch Africa Green Project in Uganda
SNV Netherlands Development Organization , one of the grantees the Switch Africa Green project in partnership with Bspace are together Promoting Inclusive Green Business Practices in the Tourism Sector. Environmentally sound operation for tourist accommodation is becoming more and more important, both from an operational point of view (lower costs and security of supply) and a marketing perspective.
Unsound operations can have negative impacts on the “tourist experience”, flora and fauna and cultural heritage of the area an accommodation is operating in. With increasing number of tourists coming to Uganda the importance of environmental sound operations is becoming more pressing. The availability of technologies and services able to realise these environmental sound operations is currently low and need to be developed.
The overall objective of the (the project) is to support Uganda to achieve sustainable tourism development by engaging in the transition towards an inclusive green industry based on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns, while generating growth, reducing poverty and creating decent jobs for communities, and minimising the impact of the tourism sector on the environment.The project aims to map existing sustainable criteria, standards and labels for the tourism sector in order to discuss (in a dialogue with the private sector) the potential of marketing incentives for the promotion of eco-tourism in Uganda.

please follow the links bellow
http://www.snv.org/
http://switchafricagreen.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=334&Itemid=827&lang=en
http://bspace.co.ug/

12/04/2017

Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA) one of the grantees of the Switch Africa Green Project in partnership with Uganda Cleaner Production Centre (UCPC) are together Promoting sustainable product innovation and energy efficient practices among small scale industries in Uganda.
The sector has potential for long-term growth and accounts for approximately 90% of the private sector The overall objective of this action is to contribute to sustainable development and minimize environmental impact from the small scale industrial sector in Uganda; through the promotion of best practices of sustainable product innovation and energy efficiency.
USSIA has raised awareness for manufacturing in SMEs and ran media campaigns targeting relevant policy. USSIA has also undertaken policy advocacy and dialogue; facilitating networking among small scale green businesses and benchmarking on sustainable manufacturing.

04/04/2017

Afri Banana Products (U) Ltd one of the grantees and partners under the switch Africa green project practices biomass based green energy technologies, capacity building on green energy generation, green energy business development and up-scaling, and engagement in Uganda. Afri Banana is mandated by Universities, businesses and Research in Agricultural Innovation together in partnership with Centre for Research in Energy and Conservation (CREEC) a non-for-profit organization to carry out research, training, consultancy and testing.

The Switch Africa Green(SAG) program supports Afri Banana’s activities aimed at up scaling Green Energy Technologies in Uganda. The main objective of the project is poverty eradication and employment creation through green, environmentally friendly and sustainable economic growth.

For more information on the project , click on the link below
http://www.switchafricagreen.org/UG/index.php/k2/itemlist/category/80-afri-banana

https://www.facebook.com/afribananaproducts/

27/03/2017

How animal waste in one of Uganda’s largest slaughter houses is turning waste into power?

To turn waste into power, the slaughterhouse puts its waste and wastewater through a fermentation process that releases methane, which is then captured and burned to produce electricity.
The facility uses the bio gas it produces to power its generator.
“We are generating on average about 10 to 15 cubic meters of bio gas daily,” said Joseph Kyambadde, head of biochemistry at Makerere University and one of those involved with the project.

The effort aims to provide training and technology to agricultural factories to help them generate their own power, save on electricity and cut down on climate-changing emissions.
Besides helping the slaughterhouse get around the city’s frequent blackouts, using bio gas for energy has cut the plant’s monthly diesel bill by 90 percent

For the full story, follow the link bellow;

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/02/how-uganda-is-turning-waste-into-power/

Uganda’s largest slaughterhouse runs 24 hours a day, turning up to 700 cattle, 200 sheep and 300 chickens each day into meat for the local market. But the energy-thirsty Kampala City Abat...

27/03/2017

How animal waste in one of Uganda’s largest slaughter houses is turning waste into power?

To turn waste into power, the slaughterhouse puts its waste and wastewater through a fermentation process that releases methane, which is then captured and burned to produce electricity.
The facility uses the biogas it produces to power its generator.
“We are generating on average about 10 to 15 cubic meters of biogas daily,” said Joseph Kyambadde, head of biochemistry at Makerere University and one of those involved with the project.

The effort aims to provide training and technology to agricultural factories to help them generate their own power, save on electricity and cut down on climate-changing emissions.
Besides helping the slaughterhouse get around the city’s frequent blackouts, using biogas for energy has cut the plant’s monthly diesel bill by 90 percent

For the full story, follow the link bellow;

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/02/how-uganda-is-turning-waste-into-power/

21/03/2017

Solar water pump
As a pilot a Solar water pump was installed under the Switch Africa Green Project in Heritage Safari Lodge Marina in Packwach. The solar powered pump replaced the generator that was used to operate a pump to pump water to water tanks in order to provide the lodge and its clientele with water for showering, washing and toilet operations. Previously the generator consumed petrol or diesel which is now prevented, because the solar pump works on energy provided by the sun. As a result no fuel is used and no air is being polluted as a result from burning fossil fuels when using the generator. A solar water pumping system consists of three components: the PV array, the direct current (DC) motor and the pump. Water can be pumped during the day and stored in tanks. The water usage and the generated power can be easily matched and the capacity can be very high solar pump. These systems have a lifetime of about 10-15 years for the Italian Nastec pumps. This is when components could be replaced during this lifetime.

13/03/2017

Spouts of Water Ceramic water filters

The Spouts of Water filter is a ceramic water filter that is made of porous clay and (in more advanced types) has a coating of colloidal silver solution The porous clay ensures that water flows through those holes, but bacteria, dirt, etc. are too big to pass through and thus the water is filtered while the colloidal silver kills the bacteria upon contact.

The only drawback with these ceramic filters is the slow speed of filtration. The water seeps out the clay filter at a rate of just 2 litres per hour. However the process needs to be slow in to give the silver solution time to kill pathogens.


The locally available Purifaaya ceramic filter pot is set in a plastic receptacle tank with a plastic lid and a tap. It has functional stability, because the only moving part is the tap. The pot can be manually filled with about 10 litres of source water. Under the Switch Africa Green project, these ceramic filters are currently being used to filter water from the Nile to replace the drinking in the four lodges of Pakuba, Heritage , Fort Murchison and Kabalega Wilderness Safari Lodges in the Albertine Nile region(Pakwach).

08/02/2017

Apply to Join Booking Booster, Sustainable Tourism Startup Accelerator

Impact Hub is excited to announce that Booking.com has partnered with them to design and launch a startup accelerator programme aimed at turning tourism into a force for good. Booking Booster will select 8-12 ventures that use their business as a means to improve destinations around the world and award them with mentorship, training, and the chance to pitch for grants of up to €500,000.

http://www.impacthub.net/stories/booking-com-partners-with-impact-hub-on-sustainable-tourism-startup-accelerator?


More information and apply by March 1, 2017 >

The Booking Booster programme, from Booking.com together with Impact Hub, aims to turn tourism into a force for good and will award grants of up to €500,000!

01/02/2017

One of the activities within the Switch Africa green project is to pilot green solutions at four identified lodges in the Pakwach area. Research and producer’s assessments were carried out in order to identify available technologies to both reduce environmental impact and offer an attractive business case for lodge and community.
For this pilot we are currently working with; Fort Murchinson, Heritage Safari, Pakuba Safari and Kabalega Wilderness in the Albert Nile region. For each of the lodges, a baseline study has been performed, showing the lodge’s needs and its current management practices related to energy, water and waste. With the information from the baseline study, potential green technologies have been identified that could provide for the needs of the lodges and reduce the impact of the energy, water and waste practices on the environment. Small green technologies were introduced like the Jiku Okoa stove produced by BURN.

The Jiku Okoa stove
The Jiko Okoa stove is designed for household use and can cook a single pot of food. This pot could be up to 12 litres in size, which could provide for eight to ten people. Therefore, the stove can be used for staff cooking. The system is lightweight and easy to use. The Jiko Okoa is sold with a one-year warranty, and is expected to last for at least 18 months in normal use.
PS. We will continue to share the green technologies under the Switch Africa Green Project on the page.

19/01/2017

Dear Friend,
Happy New Year and welcome to 2017
We are pleased to announce the 2017 SWITCH Africa Green - SEED Awards.For more details, follow the link below;

27/10/2016

Hello guys, thank you for the likes and comments on our new platform, we would like to encourage to spread the word about this page and add anyone who you think might be interested. We look forward to keeping you updated on upcoming events and everything relevant this forum.

24/10/2016

We thank you all for liking our page, we promise to do our best to deliver. A little background information on why we started this page:-In the course of implementing the Switch Africa Green project with SNV, BSpace recognized that although there has been significant progress in developing Uganda’s ecotourism product, trends show that the product is still to a large extent unexplored and is facing challenges which include: Innovations in the ecotourism industry being limited; Local communities deriving minimal benefits; and economic linkages with the communities being weak. In addition there are no industrial standards for eco-tourism in Uganda. W e decided to create an online platform that brings together local producers, innovators, enthusiasts and relevant stakeholders in the eco-tourism arena in Uganda. We hope to use this platform to showcase the key actors in this rena, local innovative products and services and relevant events to the eco-tourism sphere. Thank you again for embarking on this journey with us.

21/10/2016

In August we held our first excursion which led to the birth of this page. Click on the link below to find out what happened at our very first excursion.

SNV Uganda and BSpace host an eco-solutions excursion Implementing partners of the Switch Africa Green project, SNV Uganda and BSpace held an excursion to a bio gas installation which was followed by a presentation on ceramic filters and a networking event in the last week of August 2016. As a resul...

15/09/2016

08/09/2016