Ruptly
"Nairobi-based non-profit Kijiji Solutions has found an innovative way to recycle plastic waste by transforming discarded everyday items collected from slums into high-quality chess pieces. Footage from Monday shows discarded plastic bottles piled near a Kibera micro-manufacturing facility, where workers wash, shred, and convert the pieces into pellets. Later, using an extruder machine, the moulded plastic is carved and transformed into chess pieces. The resulting product, known as ‘trainer’, is a professionally produced tournament chess set, ready to be donated or distributed to local schools, children’s homes and prisons. "It benefits the environment because we are removing waste plastic. It benefits the community because we're hiring people to do this work, and it benefits the children because it makes it possible for us to have [...] a direct line between the source of the chess sets and their creation and their distribution," explained Richard Haukom, Founder of Kijiji Solutions. He added that chess develops 'great life lessons' and problem-solving skills in children, noting, "They learn critical thinking, they learn planning, they learn patience, strategy, self-protection, and aggressive and defensive ways of behaving." "Most of the students who are taking part in chess, their academic performance has improved," said teacher and chess trainer Wilson Akhonya. "When the students hear that waste products are turned into a useful resource like chess [...] They don't look at it as waste. When they have those plastics, they can collect them and then take them to Kijiji Solutions for recycling to get what they will use in class as chess boards and pieces," Akhonya continued. Some students believe the mindset surrounding the board game, particularly the way it distinguishes between the rich and the poor, needs to change. "Chess is not only for the rich, but we can even play it better because when we go out for tournaments, we find those rich people and we beat them. So it is about mentality. Believe in yourself," added student Habakuk Owah. While the goal of zero waste is ambitious, Kijiji Solutions now plans to expand beyond Kenya and has set its sights on establishing similar micro-manufacturing facilities in places such as Goma, Malawi, Hungary, and Kakuma Refugee Camp."
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