Welcome back to HappyPorch Radio and the very beginning of Season 7! 

Today we are joined by Fabrice Sorin from Circulab and he helps us unpack the bigger picture of a circular economy and delve into the importance of systems thinking. 

Circulab originated as a methodology inspired by biomimicry and design thinking. By employing Circulab's approach, businesses can unlock the potential for transformation that benefits both business operations and the natural systems they depend on.

Our conversation discusses what it takes to build and sustain a circular economy, opportunities and challenges, and how to embrace the complexity. 

We also look at the different types of circular economies, and what it means to push back against the idea of quick fixes. 

Join us today and we look forward to having you around for this exciting season of the podcast!

We are back with Season 7 of HappyPorch Radio!

Our hosts Barry O’Kane and Emily Swaddle are excited to explore the intersection of technology and the circular economy even further. They've previously talked about the circular economy from different perspectives in Seasons 5 and 6.

In this season they will be talking to people who assist others in implementing circularity. This will include consultants, advisors, and agencies that drive design and innovation. Join us today and we look forward to having you around for this exciting season of the podcast.

Today we are taking this opportunity to wrap up Season 6!

We have focused on a variety of different circular economy initiatives and organisations in Africa and have had so many fascinating and illuminating conversations, so we are super excited to look back and pick out some of the highlights and biggest lessons we have learned during these episodes. 

From dealing with waste to new ideas about construction and footwear, we really have covered a lot of ground, and feel that our excitement at the start of the season was well-founded!

We have explored the trends that are occurring across the African continent, while also seeing the vast differences and multiplicity that make up this huge landmass and its populations.

A big message that we heard during our time on the subject was the need for local, African ideas to play a part in creating solutions, and why copy-paste strategies will fall short.

So to hear more about fresh new systems, and how they are cropping up in different spaces right now, be sure to listen in with us as we reflect on so many lessons learned!

Welcome back to Season Six of Happy Porch Radio.

Today, we are joined by Julia Venn from Foodwise, a social enterprise which fights against food waste, and food insecurity by helping businesses repurpose their own food in order to help people in need.

We talk to Julia about the importance of distinguishing between contexts across Africa’s diverse countries, and how she came to leave Germany to co-found Foodwise Mauritius, Morocco, Ivory Coast, and Madagascar. 

She unpacks the important work that Foodwise does and how it ties in with the circular economy, and shares the powerful insight that we can’t talk about Africa in the homogenous way we do about Europe.

You’ll also hear about her experience navigating cultural differences, and why she believes that there is something to be learned from each culture, even if they don’t use the same terminology.

We hope you tune in today to hear all this and more!

Welcome back to another episode of Happy Porch Radio!

You may already know that, in season six, we are talking about the circular economy across Africa.

Today, we are joined by Audrey S-Darko, who is the team lead at Sabon-Sake, a regenerative agricultural startup based in Ghana.

During this episode, we take a look at the circular economy from the angle of agriculture and bio waste.

You’ll hear about Sabon-Sake’s dual focus, transforming agricultural waste into value-added products, and changing the mindsets of the rural communities that they work with.

The UNCRD has shown that there are over 998 million tons of agricultural waste produced per year, and Sabon-Sake’s solution goes beyond compost and the circular economy to prioritize a regenerative approach. 

We discuss the carbon capturing system they use, the role of ecotourism, and the biggest obstacles to educating people and putting waste to use.

Join us to hear more! 

The construction industry has long functioned on the basis that waste is an inevitable byproduct of doing business.

With up to 30 percent of all materials delivered to construction sites ultimately ending up in landfill, there is an incredible opportunity to not only to recycle more construction waste, but to repurpose perfectly good materials to address socioeconomic inequalities.

Today, we are joined by Kausar Khan, Carin de Beer, and Jaco Kemp from Arup in South Africa, who are working to do just that.

Their DigiYard project is an app-based service connecting unused construction site materials and waste with small-scale builders and traders in the informal sector, aiming to match supply and demand through embedding circular economy practices within the construction sector and provide access to affordable, quality material to low-income communities.

In this episode, we discuss the challenges they face and the lessons they have learned as they pilot this project.

We touch on how they have used Whatsapp in the pilot phase, their personal motivations for the project, and the scale of the construction waste problem in South Africa, as well as the financial and social responsibility incentives that DigiYard offers companies in various sectors, including the film industry.

For all this and so much more, tune in today!

In season six of Happy Porch Radio, we are focusing on the circular economy across the continent of Africa.

Today, we are joined by Keiran Smith, Cofounder and CEO of Mr. Green Africa, which is the first recycling company to be a Certified B Corporation on the African continent.

Mr. Green Africa leverages business as a force for good to realise sustainable and long-term social, environmental, and economic impact through the collection, conversion, and selling of post consumer plastic waste.

Keiran comes from a business and banking background and is now applying his entrepreneurial experience to the waste management sector in Kenya, trading with recyclable materials while achieving tangible impact.

We had the pleasure of inviting Keiran to tell us more about how this idea has been solid from day one in terms of its triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.

 We also hear about his huge ambitions for where this company can go in the future, how impactful technology can be when used correctly and in in the right context, and why Keiran believes that the human impact is just as important as the environmental one.

Tune in today to learn more from this thoughtful and actionable discussion with Mr. Green Africa CEO, Keiran Smith!

The concept of circularity operates on various spheres of life and business. Today’s guest, Fela Buyi, prioritises a number of these with his social enterprise and trendy shoe business in Africa. 

He founded Salubata, a company based in Nigeria that makes modular shoes from plastic waste with a mission to invent lifestyle technologies that help people and the planet.

You’ll hear how this inspiring entrepreneur brings together his interest in environmental toxicology, business, and design, to create aesthetically pleasing shoes that are good for the environment and benefit people. He believes it's important to create sustainable products that can compete with their traditional alternatives, and that good design is at the heart of being an effective player in the circular economy.

Salubata uses plastic waste in underserved communities, and works to empower and train women living there to develop a skillset that makes them viable employees for Salubata.

 In response to the harrowing fact that the average metropolitan person produces 5kg of plastic waste per day, Fela has designed a modular shoe with detachable uppers with different designs and colors. 70% of the energy required to produce a shoe goes into the sole, and detachable uppers save money, space, and make for far easier cleaning. He tells us why standardization is a bigger problem than lack of funding across Africa, and that building the skill set of the people is more important than investing in better machinery.

Next, he introduces us to the closed loop system where nothing escapes the environment, and each item is recycled, and he lets us in on how he sees his impact growing: by scaling what he is already doing.

We hope you tune in for another inspiring episode today!

Today’s guest, Sarah Karamsi, is a project manager at Hello Tractor, an agricultural technology company that connects small, struggling farmers to labour, equipment, and access to mechanization to rise above the poverty line.

Tune in to hear us reflect on the differences between the European and African contexts, with a particular focus on using infrastructure as a tool to reduce poverty in the agriculture community.

Sarah introduces us to the Hello Tractor application’s two uses, which includes fleet management and farmer books, and how each of these functions are used.

We dive into Hello Tractor’s relationship to the circular economy in providing an efficient service for demand and supply at a low price before Sarah tells us what Hello Tractor aims to do; to maximize the benefits of owning a tractor through managing fleets in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, Pakistan, and Thailand.

She introduces us to the device that is fitted to their tractors in order to capture and record data and tells us why she believes that maximizing efficiency is the best way to create value through tech.

We also delve into an idea that very much aligns with our thoughts on the circular economy: that the carbon emissions involved in agriculture are a necessary evil to be managed and reduced as far as possible.

Finally, we touch on the different need in Africa and Europe, the gender bias in tech, and how Sarah pairs to be a part of global change, as well as how Hello Tractor aims to create greater accessibility for more people in the long term.

Tune in today!

In season six of Happy Porch Radio, we are talking about the circular economy across the African continent.

Today, we are excited to be joined by Chris Whyte, the co-founder of the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) where he currently serves as an executive team member. His work examines the developing circular economy applications across Africa, with a particular focus on transitioning to a circular economy where waste is a resource.

In our conversation with Chris, we delve into the massive potential for development that the circular economy provides across the African continent and how ACEN is working to implement and support existing circular economies.

Tuning in you’ll hear examples of their work including the development of compressive blocks that provide an innovative solution to housing in Africa by using plastic waste while also having a massively reduced carbon footprint compared to cement. Chris explains the impact that Eurocentric models and aspirations have had on African infrastructure, including an entrenched cement industry across the continent.

Later we discuss the role that education plays in bringing about broader adoption of circular economic models and why different African countries require different solutions and applications.

We close off the show by hearing Chris’s advice on how Happy Porch Radio can unpack the circular economy in Africa going forward without Eurocentric prejudice.

For all this and much more, join us today!