Congratulations Elaine! You’re one of the winners of the Future Innovations prize! Tell us about your project and how you came up with this idea?
My idea is about turning solid waste into affordable organic fertilizers that can be used by small-scale/subsistence farmers. I grew up in a rural place in Meru, Kenya and over the years I have seen how the land has changed in terms of decreased crop yields and reduced vegetation cover. This is from climate change but also from the fact that fertilizers are generally expensive and the synthetic ones are not good for the environment. At the same time, solid waste management is becoming a big problem from urbanization and growing population. So I kept asking myself how I could turn this problem into an opportunity, and after researching various composting techniques, I thought this was an idea worth giving a shot.
Tell us about yourself, what do you do and where do you come from?
I am currently a student at the International Institute for Industrial and Environmental Economics at Lund University in Sweden. I am doing my masters in Environmental Management and Policy. I am originally from Kenya where I grew up and studied til high school before moving to the US for my undergraduate studies.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I hope to be a change-maker in the environment field. I am passionate about environmental issues and I want to actively find solutions to them especially in my country Kenya, and Africa as a whole. I want to contribute in any way I can in this space by learning more as well as collaborating with other people on impactful ideas and projects. My interests currently lie in waste management, sustainable agriculture and forestry but my masters’ program is equipping me with indispensable skills to tackle all sorts of environmental sustainability challenges. I must admit that finding practical solutions in this area is no easy feat but that should not discourage us but rather challenge us to keep trying.