Geen thema zo ‘warm’ als het klimaat deze dagen… Gedreven burgers zoeken mee naar oplossingen voor de uitdagingen van het klimaat. Zowel in België als Zuid-Afrika werken ze vernieuwende en schaalbare sociale ondernemingen uit. Beide landen kunnen van elkaar leren. Daarom werkt de Sociale InnovatieFabriek, met steun van de Vlaamse overheid, dit jaar samen met de Zuid-Afrikaanse partner LifeCo Unltd South-Africa.

Klimaatvernieuwers uit Zuid-Afrika komen in september naar ons land om over te vertellen over hun werk en de expertise van hun Belgische collega’s te ontdekken. In november bezoeken wij de Zuid-Afrikaanse projecten.
Benieuwd wie ze zijn? Kom ons kyk!

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Climate change is a 'hot' topic. Engaged citizens develop solutions to tackle those societal issues. They develop innovative and scalable social enterprises both in Belgium and South Africa. Both countries can learn a lot from each other. That is why this year the Social Innovation Factory, with the support of the Flemish government,  will be organizing an exchange with LifeCo Unltd South Africa.

Climate innovators from South Africa will visit us in September to explain their work and discover the expertise of their Belgian colleagues. In November, we'll visit the South African projects. Curious who they are? Kom ons kyk! 

Billie Cup (Belgium)
Take-away coffee is becoming more and more popular today. Although everyone deserves a hot cup of coffee in the morning, the disposable cups which come with it create a huge mountain of waste. Billie Cup is the first reusable cup for daily take away of hot and cold drinks. In exchange for a 1 euro deposit, you can ‘rent’ the cup and return it to any of the participating establishments. It is an innovative and overarching system, that can be used across all chains and cities. Small businesses and restaurants will be able to take part as well.
https://billiecup.be/

Smart Farmers (Belgium)
This city farm applies the principle of aquaponics in converted sea containers. The developers combined their passion for gastronomy and cleantech and came up with a circular system that allows them to grow herbs, fish, and shrimps in a very small area. The Urban Smart Farm aims to scale up and supply local restaurants and consumers. www.smartfarmers.eu

Peerby (Belgium)
‘Together you have more’ is the slogan of Peerby, an online platform which helps people share stuff. Simply ask for what you need on Peerby, and you will be connected with neighbours who have what you need and are willing to lend it out. By doing this, Peerby not only provides an alternative to consuming goods that you may just use once, but it also connects people from the same neighbourhood. A social, ecological and economical solution!
https://peerby-belgium.be/

REScoop.ee & REScoop Vlaanderen (Belgium)
is the federation of groups and cooperatives of citizens for renewable energy. This association wants to promote cooperation between local initiatives by citizens and existing renewable energy cooperatives and associations and better defend the interests of ordinary citizens in the energy transition. They believe it is in the interest of every citizen to gain, through this energy transition, more control over their future energy supply. In a REScoop - a renewable energy cooperative - citizens themselves invest in means of production and supply of energy and can consume the energy produced themselves. The organisation REScoop Vlaanderen is part of REScoop.eu: the European federation of renewable energy cooperatives. The network unites 1,500 European energy cooperatives and their 1.000.000 citizens who are active in the energy transition.
www.rescoop.eu and www.rescoopv.be 

Rooffood (Belgium)
Impressed by the possibilities of urban agriculture, one researcher decided to give her career a new direction… Sabien became a rooftop farmer. Roof Food is a social enterprise that grows vegetables and herbs on roofs – space which would otherwise go unused. They utilise lost space and provide people with a natural, healthy and delicious meal.
https://rooffood.be/nl

Boeren en Buren (Belgium)
– translated as Farmers and Neighbors – is a social enterprise which empowers people to buy their vegetables and meats direct from the farmer. They cut out the middleman so that people get healthy and tasty food at a better price. Meanwhile, farmers receive a fair price that is often more than they would get selling commercially. The farmers are more than happy to share with consumers how their food was produced. It’s a win-win.
https://ontdek.boerenenburen.be/

Umgibe Farming (South Africa)
is the result of a search for an affordable, sustainable, effective way of growing vegetables. Plastic bags from the landfills are transformed into growing bags, which increase productivity, save on water consumption and protect the crops from chickens. Local community members are inspired to grow nutritious vegetables. A platform was born where poor communities started growing vegetables to feed themselves and collectively sell their surplus produce.
www.umgibe.org

Iziko Stoves (South Africa)
is a social enterprise who re-integrates abusers back into society. They train former drug addicts on building a start-up and teach them welding skills. They recycle geysers, paint tins and gas cylinders to make cooking stoves, braai stands and BBQ smokers.
https://www.facebook.com/izikostoves/

Electronic Cemetery (South Africa)
is a certified and environmentally minded e-waste management company. They aim to prevent as much toxic electronic waste as possible from entering landfills. Redundant equipment is broken down into various components, salvaging metals and recycling all possible materials, as well as refurbishing and distributing reclaimed equipment. Disadvantaged communities get access to computer equipment, and frequent donations are made to charities, students and less privileged people. Connecting, uplifting and creating opportunities for growth has been the main mission.
www.electronic-cemetery.com

The Waste Takers (South Africa)
educate communities about the benefits of recycling through programs run at schools. Their Buy-Back Centre helps stimulate the economy.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/thewastetakers

Sbumeister Plastic Recyclers (South Africa)
aims to be the leading plastic wash plant in KwaZulu-Natal. The enterprise diverts approximately 200 tons of plastic from landfill per month. The team recycle plastic from plastic producers (buy, collect, wash & granulate plastic) then sells it on to recyclers who make plastic products such as PVC piping and plastic pallets. Siyabonga ensures he has a constant supply of plastic by sourcing material from different suppliers, including corporates, buy-back centres and community-based projects.
https://www.facebook.com/sbumeisterplasticrecyclers/

Empowervate (South Africa)
empowers and motivates young people from primary and secondary schools to solve or reduce the social, environmental, educational or economic problems within their schools or communities. They provide a toolkit and workshops on project management and social entrepreneurship. In the past 9 years, over 36.000 learners have been impacted by the program and encouraged to be active citizens with a social entrepreneurship mindset.
https://www.empowervate.org/
 

Met de steun van de Vlaamse overheid:

* De Vlaamse overheid kan niet verantwoordelijk gesteld worden voor de inhoud van deze communicatie.*