Waste management is a real problem with real consequences. In rural Tibet, where the water is originally some of the most pristine in the world, contamination by waste poses a lot of environmental and health threats to villagers. When approached with this problem, a team of nine Berkeley students of different disciplines came together in hopes of addressing as many facets to the issue as possible. We realized that this project is not only an environmental issue, but an educational one, and as a result have come up with the idea of building a greenhouse with the purpose of providing a visual reminder of the possibilities one has with so-called "waste." Information from the previous year has led us to make the conjecture that a majority of the waste that is infiltrating major rivers and water sources in Tibet are plastic and glass, both recyclable materials. By educating the villagers through pamplets, and involving them in our building process, we hope to trancend the language barrier and communicate the importance of waste management, and more over, waste transformation. The greenhouse will not only serve the purpose of a community center for agricultural development but also a trading center to encourage the creation of a microfinance industry between other villages. Any support, advice, suggestions, or donations are welcomed and highly appreciated! 

 

To see the progress of the team that traveled last year on a clean water initiative, please click here. They have provided our group with a lot of information and support on how to tailer our waste management initiative to the villagers' needs, and we couldn't have done it without them! 

 

Thank you,

TVP Berkeley 2014