Kenya and Uganda
If water hyacinth, a water weed, is not controlled it will cover lakes and ponds entirely. This not only affects the water flow, but prevents the sunlight from reaching aquatic plants and depletes the water of oxygen, thereby killing fish. The plants are also a prime habitat for mosquitoes. The plant may be controlled by chemical, physical and biological means; however these methods are expensive and often ineffective.
Michael Otiendo, 32, from Kenya and Robert Atuhaire from Uganda, each transformed an environmental issue into a business opportunity and now use the water weed to make paper. Michael started his business with just KES 10 000 (USD 120) and the knowledge that he acquired from the Kisumu Innovation Centre Kenya (KICK). KICK provides training opportunities to youth living around Lake Victoria for the production of quality and innovative products made from recycled goods (mostly waste material). Robert, on the other hand, launched his business after graduating from university, where he studied Wood Science and Technologies. He promotes his business through a blog, in face-to-face marketing and by word-of-mouth. Robert also involves the poor people of his community in his business: they go to the lake, pick the hyacinth and sell it to him. A locally constructed machine and an artisanal process are used to transform the plants into paper. The end products include folders, A4 size printing paper, photo frames, shopping bags and gift bags for ceremonies. The water hyacinth can also be mixed with agricultural residues from wheat straw, banana fibres or sugar cane, or with waste paper collected from universities and business offices, to make different types of paper.
(Case study drafted by T. van‘t Wout, adapted from the Internet) More information available at: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Artisan-turns-hyacinth-waste-paper-into-cash- machine-/-/1248928/1425398/-/item/0/-/7jas3y/-/index.html http://ifad-un.blogspot.it/2011/10/sfrome-new-employment-opportunity-in.html http://paforenterprises.blogspot.com
4.3 Conclusions
There is enormous potential for growth in the creation of new green jobs and for upgrading of existing jobs to become greener, contributing to sustainable development, poverty reduction and better inclusion of young people in society. It is increasingly clear that investments must be made in training and education opportunities so that young people can acquire new skills or upgrade their existing skills in order to have access to “green” jobs.
Environmental policies – with regard to, for example, reforestation and conservation – are increasingly prioritized by governments, but labour market regulations and vocational training systems are not necessarily being linked and strengthened. Nevertheless, some governments with adequate fiscal capacities have successfully implemented programmes targeting vulnerable groups, including youth, through green jobs initiatives. Countries such as Australia, China and the Republic of Korea have actively promoted green job creation; in Denmark, Ireland and Switzerland, this was connected with training and retraining activities. Australia went one step further, including the development of education, training and skills for sustainability, creating a culture of innovation and building capacity in order to make the transition to a greener economy.44
Providing youth with opportunities to gain access to training and education, whether formal or informal, helps them move one step closer to a green job. If youth are not included in TVET programmes to build their skills, they will find it difficult to access green jobs, as they may lack the necessary skills.
The case studies outlined in this chapter have shown that there are different ways in which youth can obtain access to knowledge and information to acquire or upgrade skills.
> Formal education gives students increasing exposure to education focusing on environmental awareness, pollution and waste management, integrated into subjects such as history, geography, biology and chemical science. At higher levels of education, students can study topics and courses related to organic farming, environmental science and renewable energy within the context of sustainable development.
> Informal education activities can permit youth to increase their knowledge to acquire and upgrade their skills. In China, for example, the CSA internship programme organized by PCD allowed young people to gain first-hand experience regarding how to grow organic produce, working alongside farmers and NGOs striving to increase awareness of organic farming among consumers [case 33]. In Tibet, ETTI [case 28] provides an example of a successful vocational training programme on beekeeping: vulnerable youth are given the opportunity to develop their skills, increase their yields, improve the quality of their honey and market their products. > On-the-job training is provided in various cases. On the Siphiwe Honey Gold Farm and
Preserve, youth receive training in how to run an ecotourism business and learn practices related to waste management, water conservation and beekeeping [case 31]. In the Green Collar Jobs Apprenticeship Program, run by YouthWorks, youth receive a wage during their apprenticeship, as well as support to find work upon completion of the programme [case 29]. An example of vocational training focusing on upgrading existing skills is the training of
masons and supervisors in small biogas companies in Rwanda [case 27], which results in the building, installation, maintenance and monitoring of high quality biodigesters.
> Non-profit organizations, such as EcoVentures International, provide education and training programmes to youth in Mexico and Haiti, focusing on promoting agriculture as a business through the “AgriPlanner simulation” and the “AgriMarket simulation”.45 The JFFLS
programme [case 26]promotes agriculture as a business and organic farming to young people, including out-of-school youth, through learning-by-doing and experimental learning.
> The Internet provides numerous opportunities for absorbing knowledge and information and following training programmes. Information is available in online courses on sustainable farming offered by various universities throughout the world, and in courses offered by non- profit organizations, such as the Center for Sustainable Development.46
In 2009, a youth-led non- profit organization in Nepal, “Team for Nature and Wildlife” established a project, “Youth employment for Green Jobs”, funded by the UN-Habitat Youth Fund. It targeted unemployed youth (men and women), aged 18–35, who underwent 18 months of training. A total of 100 young people were selected out of 167 applicants, and at least 75 percent of the project beneficiaries were unemployed youth from slum areas. Following training, they are now technically equipped to produce candles, bio-briquettes, organic compost and organic honey, and they have acquired entrepreneurial skills. The project has encouraged unemployed youth to start their own green businesses: some have started vermicompost production, others are engaged in commercial organic vegetable farming and beekeeping.47 Burnside’s ecotourism business is a good
example of how youth can establish a green certified business [case 31], while the green business concept of transforming water hyacinth, a water weed, into paper [case 32] is an example of creative innovation.
Entrepreneurship is central to job creation: involving youth in green enterprises helps improve their access to green jobs. In order to start a business, youth require additional training. In 2011, the Youth Entrepreneurship Facility (YEF) partnered with Inoorero University in the United Republic of Tanzania to promote green entrepreneurship through the development of a postgraduate course on green business (ILO, 2012a).Youth must also find ways to access finance in order to start their own enterprises. The case studies demonstrate a variety of ways in which youth can acquire access to credit, for example: entering youth business competitions; acquiring loans from the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), established by the Kenyan Government which provides loans to support green businesses and youth’s green business ideas (ILO, 2012a);or from the Indonesian Green Enterprise programme, a collaboration between ILO and the Central Bank Indonesia aimed at creating new green entrepreneurs and green jobs, and enhancing training and coaching as well as promoting green policies at the national, provincial and local levels.
45 http://eco-ventures.org/folio/curriculum-training/ 46 http://www.csd-i.org/about-us/