Environmental Sustainability
Aligned with several SDGs, concerned about the environment and the various factors that lead to the deterioration of natural resources, deforestation, poor environmental quality, soil depletion, and more, we are taking initiatives and organizing projects to combat this problem. We have begun building with eco-friendly bricks, investing in new wells, supporting renewable energy installations, and promoting actions that lead to more sustainable and ecological agriculture.
One example is our partnership with Mawa NGO , our partner in Malawi, for regenerative agriculture and reforestation projects. For more information, click here.
PERMEACULTURE - TRANSFORMING AGRICULTURE
Together with Mawa, we want to introduce a new kind of agriculture aligned with the environment that uses available natural resources, to have a sustainable and economic production.
Once trained, the farmers will be able to obtain fresh food throughout the year, not depending exclusively on the corn harvest and developing alternative crops around the house where they live. We work for your food safety and the improvement of the environment.
Mawa organizes training sessions for groups of farmers in the field, in permaculture (training, supervision and monitoring) and gives them a pack of tools, seeds and animals that allow them to improve their standard of living, health and economic independence. With these training courses we have impacted 2,500 farmers.
WELL CONSTRUCTION IN MALAWI
Drilling wells in rural Malawi is perhaps one of the projects that best defines the objectives of our association: to contribute to the development of rural communities by providing infrastructures that improve health, nutrition and the improvement of the educational quality of the Poorest children in Malawi.
We are proud to have built 62 wells in the Dowa and Benga areas and contributed to the creation of water pipeline and irrigation facilities in Kenya.
We especially want to thank the collaboration of HAAN who have participated in the construction of many wells. Also to AUARA and Asociación Esperanza.
The construction of wells prevents the population from collecting water for their daily intake in exposed places (rivers, streams, lakes or ponds), which are a source of disease. Poor water quality has a direct impact on the health of the population and its nutritional status.
Water for the Barsaloi community; Renewable energy reaches the Samburu desert, Kenya
Implementation of a system hybrid that allows access to water for the entire population, combining the two types of energy, solar and fossil fuel.
The area has a population of around 2,000 residents. It is an arid and difficult-to-access place, and is the natural habitat of the Samburu tribe, who are traditionally nomadic and survive by herding goats, sheep, cows and camels. Influenced by the arrival of schools and other modern influences, they have gradually abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and settled in small villages.
Water has always been their problem: they depend on it to live and to care for their livestock, and it is generally the main cause of dispute between neighbouring tribes.
The project was twofold: on the one hand, it sought to implement and expand the capacity of the Barsaloi community's water system through the installation of a hybrid technique powered mainly by solar energy. Secondly, the aim was to build a galvanised pipe system to connect the secondary school 1.3 km away and the upper part of the community 1.2 km away, thus ensuring a reasonable supply of water to the entire community and creating more dignified and equitable conditions for all.
The ultimate long-term goal was for everyone in Barsaloi to have access to clean water in the parish of Barsaloi, located in north-eastern Kenya, 500 kilometres from Nairobi, in the heart of the Samburu desert. The Xaverian Missionaries of Yarumal, who have been running this parish for many years, asked us for help with this project. They were responsible for managing and supervising the project.
During our subsequent trip to Barsaloi, we were able to see first-hand the immense change that the implementation of this project has brought about. We visited the entire facility and saw that many residents have already created their own gardens. In addition, the implementation of the hybrid system has led to greater use of the existing water source, respecting the environment and the community's finances.
The social benefit has been enormous because, when there is water in such a remote community, development becomes a reality:
- the number and quality of animals increases
- the community remains peaceful, as shepherds and warriors do not seek water in other places where frequent territorial conflicts arise
- women can attend various programmes on education, organic farming, leadership and women's empowerment
- and most importantly, children have sufficient time and the right environment for learning and educational development.
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Construtions with Eco bricks
Currently, Active Africa made the decision to carry out the works with ecological bricks to contribute to the environment.
They are compact bricks that are obtained from a mixture of sand and cement.
Unlike those that are produced traditionally throughout the country, they do not require cooking, they are not dried with wood ovens, so their use results in a decrease in tree felling and improves the environment.
It is difficult to think that the entire population can change their traditional way of building, but it is true that, to our small extent, we can limit the number of bricks made in the old way and reduce the use of firewood. We know that the Government of Malawi has also imposed the rule that public constructions be carried out with this new material.
Our builder, Moses Kasamba, has a machine that manufactures them using high pressure and with a finish similar to the traditional one.
Of course, there will still be the obligation on the part of local communities to contribute water, sand and labor as collaboration to the project. And on the other hand, the design of the building will be the same as the one used until now, but with this innovation, we hope to see benefits for the entire community.
