- 27 minutes ago
Online influencers inspire real change. Plus: Former pangolin poachers in Uganda help save an endangered species, and women in the DRC upcycle textile waste and create jobs.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:17have you ever considered rethinking your priorities if we want a world to improve
00:22maybe the first step is thinking about what truly matters welcome to echo africa today
00:29we have stories that we hope will help you take stock of what we protect what we overlook and what
00:37we might need to appreciate differently i'm alama mukwande in lusaka zambia and here's my co-host
00:45and a warm welcome from me too in lagos nigeria here's what we've got coming up young influencers
00:56in kenya inspire environmental action nationwide eco-friendly and elegant the nigerian clothing
01:04label challenging fast fashion and from environmental problem to job opportunity
01:10waste textiles in the drc pangolins you have probably never seen one now these creatures are rare
01:20and they are extremely cute when they are threatened they curl up into a tight little ball and they are
01:28threatened some pangolin species are even critically endangered in the west of uganda one man has made
01:35it his mission to protect these shy solitary animals the first tentative steps back to freedom
01:44it's moments like this that animal rights actors mozesari naitwe leaves for protecting pangolins is his
01:52great passion this pangolin is a white buried or tree pangolin he and his team rescued the animal from
02:03poachers the tiny pangolins are prized for their meat and scales in fact they are one of the most sought
02:12after
02:12contraband items worldwide in traditional chinese medicine their scales and blood are considered to
02:19have antiseptic properties but pangolin scales are made entirely keratin just like our fingernails pangolins
02:27are among the least researched mammals on earth shy and reclusive studying them in the wild is not easy
02:34by bringing them out like this also gives us some knowledge about them like what they prefer how much
02:44they move and how much they climb the trees so it helps us to get some information out of these
02:51pangolins
02:52the more they know about the animal the more he and his team can raise awareness among others for the
02:59local
02:59population pangolins are still primarily one thing mozesari naitwe has worked hard to persuade residents
03:08to switch to other forms of meat by keeping pigs for example
03:17we were poachers armed with dogs and spears but he transformed us and he set up this project for us
03:24we get meat to eat we no longer poach and we also get money 10 full-time and 55 part
03:34-time workers are
03:35employed at the rescue center they earn between 35 euros and 60 euros per month while not a huge amount
03:43it does mean that coaching is no longer necessary and many have grown to love the pangolins
03:49local in water some seasons we rescue many pangolins like six and so we don't have much space
03:58and some are in poor health when they are rescued so we care for them and make sure they are
04:05in good
04:05health again before we release them back into the wild the most important factor in preventing poaching
04:12is to create alternative sources of beekeeping is one option these behind we have purchased with donations
04:20and we are made available to former poachers i'm one of the reformed poachers so we have this project
04:29of beehives we have 14 here some are active other they're not active so when other they get active we
04:37distributed to other members outside in their communities another project is growing mushroom
04:44ideal for those who are afraid of bees charity adenaito makes sure the mushrooms stay moist
04:51the oyster mushrooms grow in wooden hearts saving space and making them easy to harvest
05:00our mission to grow mushrooms is to reduce pressure on pangolin habitats we now depend on mushrooms
05:07and we don't cut down the forest or disturb the animals anymore we get food from this project it also
05:18pays
05:18the school fees for our children and our husbands benefit too so this mushroom garden is helping entire
05:25families and providing a stable the two projects have been running for over 12 years now moses
05:37adenaito has raised 8 500 euros for the work with the pangolins mainly through social media around 200
05:45village people are involved in the projects almost no pangolins are now killed by humans here mostly we
05:53emphasize that we we let community members know that pangolins are harmless and are very important to
06:00the ecosystem because when they go for example in somebody's garden they fertilize because when they
06:10poopoo in the garden the their poopoo has a lot of nutrients for the crops but also the pangolins help
06:21to reduce the number of insects and termites in that very garden he has now convinced around 20
06:28communities to protect pangolins farmers even bring sick or injured animals to the rescue center where
06:36they are nursed back to help with termites protecting them is essential for maintaining healthy forests not
06:43only in Uganda besides the insect balls are extremely cute protecting the pangolin in a community that is bordering the
06:54national park has not been an easy task for these conservationists
06:58one other thing that caught my attention is that these guardians take out the pangolin for a walk every morning
07:06and every evening to feed on insects get relief from stress especially after getting into contact with the locals here
07:13but also get used to its wild habitat thanks hillary for a great report from uganda now our next story
07:23takes us to
07:24bukavu in eastern drc where armed conflict is still ongoing but daily life goes on it is a city with
07:34a growing population
07:35and a growing waste problem in this week's doing your bit we meet an echo entrepreneur who's found a creative
07:43way to reduce the piles of discarded textiles on the city streets
07:48her workshop is a place where forgotten fabrics find a future
07:58these textile scraps are about to get a major glow up
08:01blandine bashingese finds her materials in the trash cans of local sewing workshops in bukavu
08:06the artist and environmental activist grew up in a family of simstresses
08:11and c'est là où j'ai été en premier contact avec les chutes des tissus au début ça paraissait
08:16comme un jeu d'enfant
08:18mais après je me suis rendu compte que tout ce qui était en train d'être jeté déclassé
08:23ça pouvait servir à faire quelque chose de bien d'utile et de beau
08:28this is where her work starts when i'm standing in front of a trash can or among fabric scraps
08:35it's the scraps to himself that inspire me it's from these scraps with their different textures
08:39colors and patterns
08:44every time she heads out blandine collects about 100 kilos of textile waste carrying it in small loads she
08:50can haul on her back back home everything gets sorted in her yard a dozen women help her separate
09:00its crafts by color and texture work that allows them to support their families larger pieces become
09:07ready-made items straight away the smaller pieces are assembled into a patchwork which is then transformed
09:13into new products we produce all the bags and bags and bags and bags and bags and bags and bags
09:24and
09:24then we also make clothing and shirts and shirts personalized with fabric scraps and shirts or chemise
09:29personalised with the chutes of tissue and in the last for the very last fabric scraps we use the
09:33chutes of tissue we use recycled wool and acrylic paint to create acrylic paint to be able to paint with
09:41the
09:41chutes of tissue every year 92 million tons of textile waste is produced worldwide most of it ends
09:49up in landfills like this one in ghana taking decades to break down polluting soil and releasing
09:55greenhouse gases blending and her team are stopping some of that waste before it gets there and she
10:01already has big plans for the coming years
10:06a bigger center where we can employ and train more women to make them more financially independent
10:15and of course where we can transform bigger amounts of textile waste and
10:21ainsi to brasser a bigger amount of textile waste is a huge problem across the continent the fashion
10:30industry also has a huge carbon footprint bigger than international aviation and maritime shipping
10:38combined so can we still enjoy fashion well we'll visit a designer right here in nigeria who's doing
10:46things differently her brand is keeping traditional african crafts alive and showing that style can also
10:53be sustainable fancy one of these maybe that fast fashion produced in one of the countless sweatshops in
11:04asia or delicate hand crafting in a fashion studio in nigeria synthetic fibers that take decades to rot
11:14away on massive landfills like here in kenya the dandora dump site on the outskirts of nairobi which spans over
11:2230 acres is one of the largest on the planet
11:27or natural materials the nigerian designer of a second mayo canary it's a no-brainer
11:37i started thinking okay you know what what what if we have this kind of fashion where at the end
11:45of
11:45life we can just clip it cut it reduce it and just use it in our flower pot you know
11:51and i know that for
11:53that to happen it has to be done with um fashions that are made from natural fibers
12:02abesieke me okanyure has built her label around fibers from a palm tree called rapia
12:08a tough challenging material but that's exactly what sparks her creativity
12:15she also uses natural sauces for her dyes cola nuts give a vibrant red her first design was a jacket
12:23with
12:23raffia details but these days the studio makes whole outfits from the material
12:34that are very artistically inclined um they started they actually they started seeing it as a unique
12:43brand and and so this they they were curious they got curious and they started trying it out
12:49and it really i think we were lucky that a lot of people that now wanted to try out our
12:56brand are
12:56people that a lot of people look up to you know so um they will wear this thing and the
13:03people that
13:05looking up to them will now start aspiring to to put it on
13:13guaranteed to turn heads on the runway her designs are real showstoppers each piece is one of a kind
13:22a raffia dress can cost over 200 euros but it's made to last for years
13:29it's estimated that the global fashion industry is responsible for up to 10 percent of climate
13:35changing emissions but if more people choose natural materials and keep their clothes longer
13:40that figure could drop significantly
13:45we are heading to europe for our next report now the greek coast known for its beaches and clear water
13:54but it is also dotted with abandoned aquaculture sites and when fish from operators pack up and go
14:04they leave a trail of plastic and pollution behind them now a local ngo is trying to get rid
14:11of these so-called ghost farms in this part of greece these giant rings are everywhere
14:22there's not much to see on the surface but many of them are hiding a secret right below
14:28they've been rotting here for years spreading plastic across the coastline and far into the ocean
14:34and no one is talking about it it's an environmental crime how can you go to bed at the end
14:41of the day
14:41and you're responsible for all this they're called ghost farms and they're not only a greek problem
14:50companies around the world are getting away with this you can see what the damage
14:53is like coming out of 40 businesses so you can imagine what is going to happen with the 400.
15:00ghost farms like these are a growing part of the plastic waste that is filling oceans and seas everywhere
15:06so getting rid of them is really important the problem is that it's a long messy and dangerous process
15:16this is veronica mikos she invited us to join her and her team in methena a small town a few
15:22hours
15:22drive from athens they're here to clean up a farm that's been here since 1993. at the first first glance
15:29it's tragic you just don't know where to start everywhere you look like what to touch first
15:36it used to produce sea bass and sea brew but from 2011 the company that ran it started running into
15:42licensing issues the farm eventually shut down but instead of removing it the company just abandoned it
15:49instead from above these fish farms may look like they have little impact on their surroundings
15:56but they're actually huge pieces of infrastructure the ones being cleaned up here go 40 meters down
16:03and because most of it is made of plastic when they're abandoned they begin to break down causing
16:08massive problems the nets start to tangle trapping and killing wild fish which then attract and trap
16:15other fish creating a cycle that could last for decades over time the round cages collapse or separate
16:22and the boys crack and release the styrofoam they're filled with into the surrounding waters
16:27to fish this plastic happens to look a lot like food we went for a ride up the coastline to
16:34a beach
16:34five kilometers away and along the way we found styrofoam everywhere how long will this have been here
16:42oh it's been here for ages years and years dasos philippides runs a greek ngo that finds ghost farms with
16:48satellite imagery this is he also helps clean them up which is why he's ready to go in a diving
16:53suit
16:53dasos says he's identified more than 130 possible abandoned locations in the areas he's reviewed and
16:59confirmed at least 22 of them as ghost farms so far and the original owners of most of them are
17:05known
17:07this farm behind me is not lost it's just abandoned so there is an owner responsible for this and the
17:13system around that owner who is not holding the owner responsible so it's an environmental crime
17:21now veronica says there's only one thing they can actually do about it start cleaning
17:29the divers are the first line of attack it's absolutely very dangerous you need a special kind
17:35of person for that who likes challenges at the moment you start pulling nets the visibility is
17:41zero and you still have to figure out the puzzle on the water you know the sunken equipment is often
17:48buried under a layer of dirt and interwoven with marine life like fish and mollusks creating an
17:54unpredictable maze the divers gather all the nets into a pile the ropes that keep the cages in place
18:03are disconnected from the sea floor then they attach balloons to bring everything to the surface in
18:10sections
18:20once it's all up the last stage begins the giant rings are slowly brought into this ship the typhoon
18:28which specializes in removing marine waste for now this ghost farm that had been haunting methena's
18:34coastline is finally gone but its legacy the microplastics and debris that have already been carried far away
18:42by fish and ocean currents will live on centuries longer than anyone here
18:50we're off to kenya next to meet three young women who have understood that social media removes the
18:58barriers to barriers to participation and brings the power to the people they are using the digital
19:04tools at their fingertips to connect spark conversations and shape public debate and they
19:11are motivating people from high school students to farmers to make environmental action happen in the real
19:18world they're influencers mobilizers and climate defenders and they're using the power of social
19:26media to rally a generation of young africans to take climate action meet your fena mutoni lydia wanja
19:33and elizabeth wetuti three young kenyan women reshaping what environmental leadership looks like today
19:40their digital communities stretch far beyond their villages and cities inspiring thousands
19:50of the people who are in the world who are in the world who are in the world who are
19:52in the world
19:52of the world's most famous tree huggers in 2025 she made history 72 hours hugging a tree without
19:58food or water a guinness world record and a powerful symbolic protest demanding stronger protection of kenya's
20:05forests tree hugging is therapeutic so i was just creating awareness about the importance of tree hugging on our
20:14mental health and during that time january february last year we had a lot of mental health crisis
20:21reports across the world and i was thinking this is the time to inspire people and to ask them to
20:28come back to nature for healing climate anxiety is widespread among young people nearly 60 percent of
20:35youth aged 16 to 25 reported feeling very or extremely worried about climate change in a survey conducted by
20:42the medical journal the lancet climate related ptsd is also increasing as extreme weather intensifies
20:50trufena who's also a musician has lived through her own mental health journey she believes in the healing
20:57power of nature and the importance of preserving it for future generations her record-breaking hug became a
21:04global moment that inspired millions when i was hugging the tree that moment a lot of people planted trees
21:12yeah people had already created events and they were really planting trees and most importantly the
21:18indigenous trees at that same moment so it was an awakening her message traveled all the way to the kenyan
21:25state house president william ruto appointed her ambassador for the national plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032
21:38where trufena mobilizes on the ground gender and climate justice advocate lydia wanja breaks barriers
21:44online as a unesco youth delegate she represented young african women and girls at cop 30 in brazil
21:51and at the seventh united nations environment assembly in kenya but lydia knows most african
21:58youth don't have access to these restricted spaces so she makes them accessible for everyone on social
22:04media it's a part of her daily life and a powerful tool social media transits geographical barriers by
22:12utilizing the social media i am able to tell them that despite you not being physically present here
22:18you're up to date with what's happening and your voice is also hard so social media becomes a place
22:24for me even to engage with a broader audience that was not here physically present for kenya's fast
22:31growing young population social media is becoming a crucial space for learning and connecting
22:37environmental activist elizabeth watuti is leveraging its power when i started my organization
22:43i remember i was definitely very new on social media but i chose to capitalize on my social media to
22:51purely share about environment and climate change issues and i just would share because i believe that
22:57as much as we are making a difference on the ground somebody somewhere could also be inspired by the work
23:02that we do among the work that elizabeth shares online is her green generation initiative which brings nature
23:10directly into classrooms she works with school children and rural communities to create green
23:16learning spaces planting fruit tree orchards and food gardens like this one in the treeside special
23:22school in nairobi as these social media activists gain visibility the kenyan government is noticing them
23:29social media influences are really critical there i can say a great pillar when it comes to climate action
23:36ensuring that there is awareness creating public awareness community awareness and also changing the
23:45behavior of kenyans and ultimately improving impact and outcomes on the ground with help from government
23:53and civil society online influence is becoming an effective force elizabeth watuti experienced that reach
24:00first hand in 2022 when one of her videos went viral i think my most impactful post which is also
24:09my
24:09most impactful point in time of my journey as an environmentalist was a speech that i delivered at cop 26
24:18in
24:18glasgow which was in front of 119 presidents and this is a speech that i named open your hearts my
24:27story will
24:28only move you if you can open up your heart i need to tell you what is happening in my
24:35home country
24:37right now as you sit comfortably here in this conference center in glasgow over 2 million of my
24:47fellow kenyans are facing climate related starvation last year elizabeth was among time magazine's 100 most
24:56influential climate leaders from hashtags to hard action kenya's environmental influences are helping turn
25:03digital voices into real change
25:07it's always so inspiring to see people really trying to make a difference well that's it for today
25:14thank you so much for tuning in it's goodbye from me malama mukonde in lusaka zambia see you next week
25:21and goodbye from me too chris lms in lagos nigeria don't forget to check our social media channels
25:28or our website and if there is anything you want to share feel free to write to us
25:34us at eco at dw.com we'd love to hear from you see you next week
25:40switch
25:42oh
25:42oh
25:43oh
25:43oh
25:43oh
25:44oh
25:44oh
26:10You
Comments