The Upcycle Project Leads In Planetary Restoration In Botswana

The Upcycle Project

LEADS IN PLANETARY RESTORATION IN BOTSWANA

By Lorraine Kinnear

Founder and Creative Director of The Upcycle Project, Seopedi Batsile Living in Botswana, one would not begin to imagine that an activity such as planetary restoration is anything that concerns them. It takes people like Seopedi Baitsile, the Founder and Creative Director of The Upcycle Project (T.U.P), a business that is underpinned on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, to address responsible consumption and production. Her educational background has contributed a lot to the success of T.U.P. She completed her Bachelor of Social Sciences, Environmental, and Geographical Sciences & Sociology before going on to complete her Honors in Development Studies at the University of Cape Town. Currently, she is in pursuit of a Master of Leadership for Development, Global Development at the University of Manchester. In her journey as an advocate for planetary restoration, she works with several local organizations to help her drive more impactful results.

INNOVATING TOWARDS NET ZERO WITH THE UPCYCLE PROJECT

The last few decades have shown that we are in a global climate crisis, with the debilitating state of the ice caps in both the South and North Poles are showing a clear sign that global warming is at its highest peak. This devas-

tating realization has led to the establishment of various global youth-led movements that are dedicated to making a difference in the preservation and restoration of the planet. Locally, an exemplary organisation, The Upcycle Project (T.U.P) demonstrates both innovation and dedication towards building circular economies.

Driven by a passion to see more Batswana getting involved in climate action, she resorted to setting up a social enterprise dedicated to recycling glass bottle waste and, offering environmental consultancy to both organisations and communities. The idea of her business is to give simple pieces of waste a longer lifespan, all the while keeping them from causing harm to the environment. Her journey in doing work in sustainability started immediately after completing her undergraduate degree. "I wanted to draw more attention to the idea of seeing waste as a resource. Botswana currently exports a lot of glass and other materials to other markets who then turn it into something

and sell it back to us, I realised this is a great injustice to the creative minds of this nation as well as to the economy," she explained. SOLUTION DRIVEN INNOVATION FOR THE PLANET

Even in its infancy, T.U.P is a multi-disciplinary organisation that also promotes greener living. Because it is newly established, T.U.P contributions may seem insignificant, but the organisation does a lot to inspire, educate, and help other individuals to find novel ways to reduce and repurpose waste by applying principles of creativity, circularity, and innovation to achieve much-needed sustainability goals.

One notable project that T.U.P has undertaken is the "Ntsholele mo Skaftining" Campaign, which partners with local food vendors to encourage people to buy their food and receive it in their containers as opposed to getting them in paper plates that lead to hazardous pollution. They want their work to be a symbol of change that will hopefully snowball across the country. "We don't always realise the impact waste causes on our environment. For instance, did you know that Styrofoam takes up to 500 years to decompose? Through the environmental education aspect of our organisation, we find local partners to help us drive the awareness and ultimately mindset change around sustainable living," she elaborated. SUSTAINABLE LIVING FROM GRASSROOTS

As a catalyst for social change T.U.P aims to leverage strategic partnerships to start planting the seeds in younger members of society. They recently established a partnership with The Neo Hub to facilitate environmental education for The Future Leaders Program, a program aimed at shaping positive behaviour in young minds. The issue of climate change requires a contribution from everyone, and T.U.P is interested in creating robust and inclusive educational programs. On this note, Baitsile said the tactical direction of their business as an organisation is to provide communities with more information, to enable them to become responsible consumers. She added that this is a sign of their commitment to supporting SDG12 as well as the National Vision 2036 that speaks to maintaining a Sustainable Environment. "We do this mainly through engaging with our online audiences as well as our partner engagements. We encourage and educate on the small ways through which we can play our part in climate action. From using cloth bags as opposed to paper bags, switching to more eco-friendly products and home appliances, composting, buying locally as this protects both the environment and can propel the local economy quite substantially," she explained.

Above and beyond The Future Leaders Program, there are plans to start offering this service in schools and other after-school programs. With these engagements in place, T.U.P believes that they will impact the mindsets of young people who will in turn inspire others to do the same. PATHWAYS TOWARDS HOLISTIC WELLBEING

Understanding that there is a lot that still needs to be done in the sustainability space, Baitsile encourages people to play an active role in reversing some of the damage that has been done over the years. Innovation plays a critical role in ensuring that people can use the resources they have in place to build the longevity of the planet, and T.U.P stands at the forefront of this movement.

She further explained that their biggest obstacle is that people don't know what impact their lifestyles have on the environment yet, they remain steadfast in showing everyone that a lifestyle change is not only possible, but it is simple and doable. Despite the mammoth task they have at hand, they are committed to ensuring that their message gets delivered and when it does reach the audience, they will ensure it is well packaged.

A simple idea that emerged from drawing on education and personal experiences is all it took for something this big to be created, a movement that bridges the distance between mental readiness to take the climate crisis head-on, and the lack thereof.

In closing, Baitsile shared that through collaborative efforts change is inevitable in the world. T.U.P operates by the motto 'Moroto waesiga o ele,' a Setswana adage meaning, 'To be successful, we have to work together.' T.U.P plans to continue partnering with other organisations, local governments, and individuals to help carry their message to the world.