Somarelang Tikologo (Environment Watch Botswana) is a member-based environmental

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

located in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

. The organization aims to promote sustainable environmental protection by educating, demonstrating and encouraging best practices in environmental planning, resource conservation and waste management in Botswana. Somarelang Tikologo has a small staff and volunteer members that undertake numerous environmental awareness raising activities throughout the community each year.

History

Somarelang Tikologo was initiated in 1991 by three

University of Botswana The University of Botswana, popularly known as UB, was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. Th ...

lecturers, due to a concern about the state of Gaborone's environment. These lecturers operated Somarelang Tikologo activities out of their offices for a year. In 1994 Somarelang Tikologo was officially registered as a Society. The First Annual General Meeting was held in March 1995, at which the first Executive Committee was elected and membership fees decided upon. Today, Somarelang Tikologo has more than 500 individual members, 50 corporate members and 22 Life members supporting its network in Botswana. An Environmental Resource Centre operates daily at the office, and publications include fact sheets, newsletters, workshop proceedings and educational materials.

Somarelang Tikologo's Work

Waste Management

The country of Botswana has yet to impose legislation governing the collection of recyclable materials. As such, waste levels are quite high. Somarelang Tikologo promotes the internationally acclaimed Waste Management Hierarchy of

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Waste hierarchy is a tool used in the evaluation of processes that protect the environment alongside resource and energy consumption from most favourable to least favourable actions. The hierarchy establishes preferred program priorities bas ...

, with an aim to ultimately achieve safe and proper landfill disposal with a focus on

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

. This waste management approach aims at conserving and protecting the limited and fragile natural resources, maintaining a healthy and clean environment, and a conducive environment for sustainable development. Somarelang Tikologo has an on-site Recycling Center where anyone in Gaborone can drop off recyclable materials. Once sorted, the

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

s and

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

are transported by truck to recycling facilities in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and all

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

products are transported by truck to recycling facilities in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. The costs to transport all recyclable materials in this way is generously donated by Kgalagadi Beverages Trust.

Resource Conservation

The Somarelang Tikologo Resource Conservation Subcommittee conducts demonstration projects at local schools in Gaborone, as well as country-wide awareness-raising campaigns to educate Botswana about the importance of conservation of these resources. Popular topics of education include increasing the efficiency with which resources are utilised as well as to ensure equity in the distribution of the benefits accrued from harnessing said resources.

Environmental Planning

The Environmental Planning Sub-Committee aims to promote the integration of environmental issues into urban planning in Greater

and the rest of

. This includes issues relating to public open spaces, urban agriculture, public transport, recreational facilities, and public participation in the decision making process. Somarelang Tikologo is currently developing an Ecological Park.

PR & Fundraising

The Fundraising and

Public Relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

Sub-Committee of Somarelang Tikologo provides a venue for the members of Somarelang Tikologo to voice their concerns regarding the state of Botswana's environment, and contribute to making positive change in Botswana's environmental situation through various activities. Such activities aim to promote a greater awareness of environmental issues to the general public and certain target groups, and have a positive impact on local communities and the environment. The Sub-Committee specifically focuses on the following objectives in relation to the environmental planning of Greater Gaborone and the rest of Botswana: *To provide marketing support to and promote the efforts of each Sub-committee. *To assist in the development of fundraising plans *To implement selected fundraising activities *To develop and implement the communication strategies for ST (Newsletters, brochure, website, promotional products, etc.) *To develop and promote the Green Shop project *To provide advice on income-generation projects *To develop and implement a Membership Program *To develop and implement a Volunteer Program

Ecological Park

Somarelang Tikologo is located inside an ecological park at Plot 3491 Ext 4 in Gaborone, Botswana. The park was officially opened by the Botswana Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Hon. Onkokame kitso Mokaila on February 27, 2009. The park itself consists of five main components: Playground for children, the Green Shop, Community Organic Garden, Recycling Center, and Eco Cafe.

Playground For Children

The playground is open to the community for families and children to visit anytime during business hours. The purpose of the playground is to demonstrate fun and environmentally friendly ways that locals can make their own yards more entertaining, and also to help establish Somarelang Tikologo and thus

Recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

as a welcomed part of the community.

Green Shop

The Green Shop is a small store in ST's Ecological Park. All products for sale are made with recycled materials and are provided by local people in Gaborone, most of whom are impoverished or unemployed. The purpose of the Green Shop is to encourage recycling and environmental awareness by promoting the re-use and sale of recyclable products. It also provides opportunities for urban and rural Batswana (people of Botswana) to generate income by selling green products and acts as a source of funding for Somarelang Tikologo's other environmental initiatives. Items offered for sale include

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

handbag A handbag, commonly known as a purse or pocketbook in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. Purse, handbag or pouch The term "purse" originally referred to a small bag for holding coins. In man ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

baskets A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehai ...

home decor Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

, natural marula products, and

herbal tea Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...

Community Organic Garden

As a way of educating the public and demonstrating how to cultivate organically grown vegetables, Somarelang Tikologo operates an organic garden using no pesticides or artificial

fertilizers A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

. Plants are fertilized with a natural brew of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the Soil fertility, fertility of soil by adding organic ma ...

chili powder Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili p ...

and food remains.

Chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

helps to make

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

grow without polluting the groundwater and the

scares away

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

without killing them. Rainwater collected in tanks is also used to water the plants, making the entire process sustainable without posing a threat to the environment. Organic vegetables such as spinach,

rapeseed Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...

spring onions Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...

chomolia Chomolia is a vegetable widely farmed in Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is usually prepared as a relish for maize meal (Sadza in Shona and lsitshwala in Ndebele), Nshima in Zambia). Chomolia is green in colour and households grow it in their domestic gar ...

, chonga,

tomatoes The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

, and beetroot are all grown seasonally.

Public Recycling Drop-off Center

The drop-off center was officially opened in the Ecological Park on September 1, 2005. It is intended to reduce the amount of solid waste going into landfills. Members of the public are encouraged to drop off

, plastics and cans which are then collected for recycling by respective recycling companies. All

s and

are transported by truck to recycling facilities in

and all

products are transported by truck to recycling facilities in

. The first of its kind in Botswana, this drop-off center has been used as a pilot project for the development of a number of other recycling drop-off centers constructed within

. It provides opportunities for Batswana (people of Botswana) to participate in the whole waste management process, which begins with sorting waste at home.

Eco Cafe

The Eco Cafe is an environmentally friendly refreshment stand offering guests to Somarelang Tikologo's ecological park a selection of organic and all natural snacks grown and processed in environmentally friendly ways. Preparation and service of the items sold in the Eco Cafe are selected after considering their effects on the environment.

Fundraising And Events

Enviro Cycling Challenge

Somarelang Tikologo, with the help of BPOMAS will be hosting a Cycling event to be held on Sunday, 11 October 2009 at 06H00 at the Notwane Grounds next to the national stadium. This is to commemorate World Habitat Day which is a reminder to care and take collective responsibility for the habitat.

Partnerships

Students Without Borders (SWB) and World University Service of Canada (WUSC) provides Somarelang Tikologo with volunteers from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

.Statement from the WUSC/SWB site.
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References

{{Reflist, 25em Environmental organisations based in Botswana Organisations based in Gaborone