SINT MAARTEN (SIMPSON BAY) – Green SXM and Waste2Work teamed up to present a convincing pitch at the NPOwer NGO Conference 2020, arriving second place with their idea of a Community Composter that will be located on Airport Road, Simpson Bay.
The first Conference to support Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) in Sint Maarten was organized by the NPOwer Programme, managed under the Foresee Foundation for World NGO Day, celebrated worldwide on February 27th. The Conference was held at NIPA, Cay Hill, with attendance of over 170 participants representing 70 NPOs for the day to attend workshops on how to strengthen governance, finance and communications in running a NPO, amongst other topics.
A twinning challenge was organized with the opportunity to win up to 1000 USD for a mini-project. Called ‘It Takes More than Two to Tango’, this contest was innovative as the main criteria was to team-up with another organization registered on NPOwer website, reinforcing cooperation and synergies between different initiatives for the benefit of the community in Sint Maarten.
After a short brainstorming session, it became evident that a collaboration between Green SXM and Waste2Work was a win-win situation to make a long-time dream project come to reality: a Community Composter. Green SXM has extensive knowledge about composting both at home and within communities. Waste2Work offers skills and reusable waste materials to make an affordable and upcycled compost tumbler. Working together, the aim is to show how to reduce waste, as 50% of waste going to the landfill is organic waste that can be composted.
Alex Frye, founder of Green SXM explains: “I’ve been conducting compostability tests for many years. With my experience, the metal tumbler composting is an easy way to compost and show the community how the whole process works. I can run workshops with short demonstrations to convince more people about the benefits of composting. It’s perfect for school visits for example.”
At Waste2Work, the team was excited to build a new upcycled product that can benefit the community. “We build furniture with reusable waste materials in our Upcycle Center, experimenting with different waste streams. We have the manpower to build a composter out of old oil drums, and we have the one magic ingredient you need to compost effectively: wood sawdust!”, cheerfully adds the Director, Jasper Nijenhuis.
Voting for the 3 best project was a combination of participants’ choice along with the decision from the panel of the organizers and sponsors. The Community Composter project came in second place, securing 750 USD to build the composter and organize workshops. It will be placed at Waste2Work, next to Red Cross St. Maarten grounds, along the busy airport road, Green SXM and Waste2Work hope the Community Composter will attract as many people as possible, to feed the composter and convince them to start their own composting at home.
After 3 months maturing time for each batch, the compost produced will be used for joint environmental projects such as planting trees with other Green Initiatives of Sint Maarten. Extra amounts will be donated to small-scale farmers and gardeners. Waste2Work can also build more composter tumblers to put in community spaces and schools, with training provided by Green SXM, for a greener Sint Maarten.
About:
NPOwer is Foresee (4C) Foundation’s latest project which aims to bring Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) together to share expertise, grow capacity, assist with funding, fundraising, marketing, governance and other innovative strategies. NPOwer is a platform in which there are over 80 NPOs registered, working in different sectors such as education and youth, elderly care, poverty alleviation and protecting the environment. This NGO Conference 2020 was permitted with the sponsorship of the National Rampenfonds – Dutch Disaster Fund, and St. Maarten Training Fund. For more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Green SXM hopes to inspire people to make the best choices for the environment both in SXM and the world at large. Posting eco-friendly tips and solutions on its blog, Green SXM’s favorite topic and expertise is around gardening, composting organic waste and permaculture. They also encourage people to buy locally-made products in Sint Maarten and where to purchase them. For more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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The name says it all: the aim of Waste2Work is to create work out of waste. We want to show that waste has value and can be used as a resource to create new products: this is called upcycling. We believe there are endless possibilities to create jobs in this sector, especially for the Youth, while avoiding re-usable waste materials to end-up on the landfill. This approach helps to create more resilient communities and to build a circular economy. For more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Source: Souliga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com-k2&view=item&id=30068:community-composter-project-receives-support-from-npower-programme&Itemid=450
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