Transforming the Environment, Transforming Lives

Upcycling Waste Materials into Eco- Products

Asikabew, Ghana

Project Story

Transforming the Environment, Transforming Lives is an environmental sustainability initiative aimed at empowering the women and youth of Asikabew, a community located in the Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana, West Africa, through education. The initiative educates villagers on how to transform both natural and artificial waste products into reusable, eco-friendly products. The project initiative also provides a platform to sell their eco-friendly products to generate funds and improve their community living conditions.

As a result of the Purpose Earth grant, the project was able to create a workspace and to provide supplies necessary to empower women and youth to make artefacts and products for commercial purposes. Waste for recycling includes empty tins, rubber bags, plastic bottles, old clothes, old plantain barks/trees, coconut husks, animal waste, etc.

This workspace will support Transforming the Environment, Transforming Lives’ goals to: Expose at least 25% of the community’s youth and women on the concept of environmental sustainability and importance of recycling through education; Equip at least 20 women and youth with skills and tools for making various artefacts; Help the community raise an amount of GHS 12,000 (USD 2,000) annually for the first 2 years through the sale of products.

“Prior to the implementation of my purpose project, the people of the Asikabew lived a rather mundane life, with their sole focus on farming. Upon introducing the Transforming the Environment, Transforming Life agenda, the community became aware of the impact the waste they were generating and wrongly disposing had on the environment, they learnt how to transform these waste materials into upcycled eco products for sale. The ripple effect of this was seen in how conscious the people of the community have become of their environment and how they manage the waste they create. …In simple terms, I call my project the gift that keeps giving!” 

Timotina Boakye, Founder

View Project Website:
Project Impact and reach to date:
2 employees hired
5 volunteers
25 local villagers attending and participating in trainings and workshops
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