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While snowflakes drift down in Switzerland, the cold settles in and the trees glisten frostily in the early morning, the sun shines over the lush green trees of Nicaragua and awakens with its warmth a colorful flock of imposing birds, whose song fills the air. Two completely different worlds on opposite sides of the earth - yet there is a reason for joy for the children of both regions. In Switzerland, it is dinner with the family, with a beautiful tree, under which gifts liee. In the municipality of El Astillero in Nicaragua is a warm meal with friends, neighbors and families with fun and games, for on today takes place the Christmas event by Buy Food with Plastic instead.  An...

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It is Advent, and the air is clear, not only from the snow, but from a purity that flows from the hearts of the people. A silence reigns on the streets, one that is not empty, but full of meaning. Here, nothing superfluous remains. Julia sits on a bench in a community park that was once a landfill. Back then, this place would have smelled of decay, of the end of things. But today, there is life here. Children play among trees that have grown from the compost of old waste. A group of craftspeople repairs tools that no one throws away anymore, because nothing needs to be replaced—everything can be renewed. Julia looks at the scene before her and...

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Nicaragua inspired Khalil's original vision for Buy Food with Plastic. However, it didn't stop there. During another trip by co-founders Khalil and Anna to Nicaragua, they came across the globally renowned coffee beans from the region. The dream of a small café in Zurich took shape, where coffee from Nicaragua could be served. Through this business, Buy Food with Plastic could generate income, which would benefit the organization. This could not only create a wonderful place for exchange, but also provide an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the project, while the organization becomes less dependent on donations thanks to the income. A NGO café, full of life, where people come together and share ideas for a better world over a...

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Ms. Bosomtwe, a resident of the village of Dwabor in Ghana, where Buy Food with Plastic has been active for 4 years, knows exactly how dangerous empty plastic bottles are to the environment. Mosquitoes that transmit diseases such as malaria nest in the bottles and multiply quickly in the village. Water collects in the discarded plastic bottles, in which the mosquitoes can lay their eggs in an ideally protected environment. This makes plastic bottles breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In addition to the residents of Dwabor, Ghana, several studies have also made similar observations (Fobil, 2000; Yintii et al., 2014). Thanks to the work of Buy Food with Plastic, the villagers can regularly hand in their plastic bottles. These bottles are...

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Imagine landing in Nicaragua, a Central American country full of breathtaking natural beauty. You step into the role of Jenner, a seven-year-old boy from the Pacific coastal region. The beauty of your surroundings is unparalleled—but there is a problem: mountains of trash, plastic bottles, and packaging pile up everywhere in your community, with no one to dispose of them. There is no waste management system, harming the environment and the country's beauty. But you have no energy to deal with it, because your biggest concern is simply surviving. Sometimes you are lucky enough to get a warm meal. But often your plate remains empty, and you go to bed hungry. One day, your sister tells you about a "Buy Food...

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Our educational community events build on the encounters between the local population and our local teams, through which we are entrusted with many personal stories. Many of you are acting on the impact that the social environmental project of Buy Food with Plastic has on people's lives. These personal stories are particularly close to our hearts. They prove that development cooperation is successful for the common good and the environment. Our entire team draws inspiration from these stories, which is why today we can share Raju Kumar's personal story with you.   Raju grows up in the Chamunda Nagar slum in Mumbai, where plastic waste is ubiquitous. But it was only through an awareness workshop by Buy Food with Plastic,...

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Peter Bolliger is an adventurer who shares his experiences in video format on social media. Peter encountered Buy Food with Plastic earlier. When we moved into the Charity Gallery, the room was still under construction. We had no water, no electricity, and the walls were bare and grey. Anna and Khalil remembered a former schoolmate who currently ran a paint shop. They contacted him, and he, Daniel Galantucci and the company founder of the Hampel Gruppe, Ramon Hampel visited the Charity Gallery. In the following weeks, they painted the walls of the Charity Gallery white without asking for payment. Ramon didn't stop there, though. A few weeks later, Anna, Khalil, Ramon and Peter sat together in a video call. Peter was...

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In the early days of Buy Food with Plastic, we faced several challenges recycling the plastic we collected. We collected plastic bottles and hoped to have them processed at a recycling plant – but there were no such facilities anywhere nearby. The bottles eventually piled up on our Country Manager's property. One day, Eileen came to us, a German woman who had emigrated to Nicaragua. She had a bold idea: she wanted to build a house out of the collected plastic bottles. At first, we thought the idea was crazy. But the more we looked into it, the clearer it became: it was actually possible. Plastic bottles filled with sand could be used like bricks – strong, safe, and even...

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After we told you how Buy Food with Plastic has grown and started operating in India thanks to Shakti, we would now like to take the time to tell you about another encounter that influenced the story of Buy Food with Plastic. This is the story of the encounter with George Kwame Quansah, the current Country Manager of Buy Food with Plastic in Ghana, and thus his story and the founding story of Buy Food with Plastic Ghana: In a small fishing village called Elmina, right on the coast of Ghana, lives Kwame, a young tour guide. Every morning, he leads curious tourists through the historic fort and tells them the stories and secrets of his country. In the afternoon,...

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Sometimes, in-person meetings are not necessary to connect with one another. Our team has learned this again and again over the years. Through social media, our paths come together in ways that are not predictable. This was also the case with the virtual meeting with Shakti, our Country Manager in India. This was an important moment in the history of Buy Food with Plastic, which is why we want to tell this story now: In the bustling streets of Bhandup, a slum in Mumbai, Shakti Yadav grew up. Life there was a daily struggle: the narrow alleys, overcrowded homes, and the smell of waste shaped his childhood. But the biggest problem that concerned him even as a young boy was...

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