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What to Do With Piles of Plastic Waste?

Breanna Draxler Tonderayi Mukeredzi Madalitso Wills Kateta Natasha Chassagne

May 10, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Malawi, Lilongwe

From collecting plastic to transforming it into infrastructure, communities all over the world are implementing solutions to tackle the growing amount of plastic waste. In Malawi, women are separating garbage from plastic and creating new products like fire briquettes, doormats, and organic compost that they can sell to others. A town in Tasmania turned their plastic waste into a road made of recycled asphalt that is expected to last 15 percent longer than regular asphalt. And Zimbabwe is employing youth to recycle plastic into eco-friendly construction materials.

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Taharka Bros: Ice cream with a side of worker ownership

Jaisal Noor

May 06, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore ice cream maker Taharka Brothers is six Black men, worker-owners, who lost most of their business accounts at the start of the pandemic. They saved their business, and their jobs, by starting home delivery and tapping into collectives that help worker-owned cooperatives with financing and business advice. Gratitude for a decent job, good working conditions, and pride of ownership help sustain such a business through tumultuous times.

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Jirogasy's solar computers power offgrid schools in Madagascar

Chuma Asuzu

May 03, 2021 |

Hardware Things |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Madagascar, Antananarivo

Jirogasy developed solar-powered computers and, maximizing a partnership with an education NGO, has helped expand computer access among rural schools without access to a grid. Using internationally-funded grants, they created the Jirodesk II, a Windows 10 powered PC that can be powered by the grid or charged via a solar panel. The computers are monitored remotely, which allows users to quickly get tech support, and the company monitors usage in Watt-hours for its “pay-per-use-until-you own model,” where users pay per number of Watt-hours used, and after a certain number of Watt-hours the machine is paid off.

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Will This Impact Fund Save America's Music Venues?

Rebecca Greenwald

April 30, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisville, Kentucky

The Live Venue Recovery Fund offers a path for independent music operators to purchase their venue. The fund buys the properties, and collects rent, but are limited to a 12% return rate and the contract lays out a path and timeline of operator ownership. Any additional funds are donated to the National Independent Venue Association. Eligible venues must be seen as culturally significant to the community and vulnerable to redevelopment, as well as show strong financial statements from before COVID-19. The fund forgave a year of rent to some venues hurt by the pandemic, allowing them to get back on their feet.

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This Market Helps Cincinnati's Kid Entrepreneurs Go Beyond the Lemonade Stand

Cinnamon Janzer

April 21, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cincinnati, Ohio

An annual flea market in Cincinnati is honing the entrepreneurial skills of children. The City Flea Kid’s Market allows young vendors to sell a variety of goods, learn about business and gain confidence in themselves.

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When gold is green

Mayela López

April 16, 2021 |

El Colectivo 506 |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Costa Rica, Osa Peninsula

Sustainable rural tourism on the Osa Peninsula has been combined with economic prosperity in a campaign known as Caminos de Osa. A mentorship program matches experts with local entrepreneurs to successfully set up travel destinations. 35 small businesses have been vetted and promoted by travel agencies and the project has created a tourism chain in rural Costa Rica, generating a source of income for small business owners.

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The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

Ashifa Kassam

April 09, 2021 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Spain, El Puerto de Santa María

A Spanish chef piloted a project to start a “marine garden” — cultivating eelgrass and obtaining grains it produces to be used in different recipes. The grain has healthy benefits, including 50 percent more protein than rice, and growing the seagrass can transform salt marshes into biodiverse ecosystems that can also capture carbon emissions. They are working to scale the project to understand the ideal conditions to grow the plants.

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This Oakland Restaurant Was Developed in the Spirit of Mutual Aid

Emily Nonko

April 08, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The 8th Street Collective, a loose organization of Oakland food industry workers, and Oakland Bloom, a group that supports refugee and immigrant chefs, opened a new restaurant, bar, and community hub space. A team of four worker-leaders rotates operational roles of Understory, the restaurant, and are working with lawyers to become cooperatively owned. The restaurant serves a pop-up-style rotating menu four days a week, including dishes by Oakland Bloom chefs and the other days are dedicated to the nonprofit’s incubator and training program called Open Test Kitchen, as well as other programming.

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Planting trees can create plastic waste. One teenager is changing that.

Kanchan Srivastava

April 05, 2021 |

Footprint |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Chintalkunta, Telangana

A teenager in India came up with a solution to combat the plastic waste crisis that usually comes with planting trees. Srija created a biodegradable pot made out of groundnut shells that decomposes in the soil after 20 days. She’s working with an organization to scale her product, which costs just 27 cents to make.

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A collaboration of local orgs is working to boost minority-owned businesses in Kensington

Courtney Duchene

April 05, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Four local organizations have teamed up to provide $15 million in loans for the Latinx community in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. The affordable loans have gone to affordable housing, small businesses, residential mortgages, and development projects.

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