Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It’s the mantra echoed in the 2,000-person community of Candelaria, Honduras. This area is home to eco-minded residents who are determined to protect their land.
Candelaria’s environmental story starts in the mid-1990s. That’s when plastics and disposable materials first made their way to the local markets. As with similar communities throughout Central America, the streets where Candelaria’s children play quickly became strewn with garbage. But this is where Candelaria’s story takes a unique turn.
Many communities ignored this mounting environmental problem, but the progressive Candelarians aspired to become environmental stewards of their pristine land.
A Community Ready For Solutions
Candelaria community members partnered with the Engineers Without Borders USA Chicagoland Professional Chapter (EWB-USA Chicagoland) to become an environmental success story with impacts far beyond their borders.
From the beginning of their waste challenge, Candelaria proactively tried to find ways to control this growing environmental crisis. The residents designated an area for waste and started an open-air dump to clean up their streets.
Unfortunately, this dump ended up compounding their problems. Rodents and insects overtook the dump, and when the rains came the uncontrolled stormwater runoff found its way into the community’s waterways.
The community clearly had a passion for managing their waste and protecting the environment, but they lacked the technical expertise to make it a reality. That’s where EWB-USA Chicagoland came in.
The team from EWB-USA Chicagoland relocated waste away from the natural water spring and capped it with clay so that most rainfall runs over it. They installed pipes to capture dangerous pollutants and carry them to drying beds where they can evaporate. They upgraded Candelaria’s recycling center and added a composting system.
Their project built upon the community’s existing infrastructure and honored their desire to control their waste in an environmentally sound way.
“The thing that amazes me time after time is their thirst for knowledge,” said Liz Jensen, an EWB-USA Chicagoland member who worked on the project in Candelaria. “They see a problem happening and they want to find a solution.”
Inspiring Other Communities
Now the Candalaria community promotes its waste-management program and recycling center as a model for other communities throughout Honduras and Central America. They know their neighbors face similar environmental challenges, and they want to share the solutions they implemented in partnership with EWB-USA.
Leaders from several nearby towns toured the program site, and it wasn’t long before a similar project was implemented in nearby Gualcanise, Honduras.
Together with our volunteers and supporters, EWB-USA changes the world one community at a time. An enterprising community like Candelaria shows just how significant the ripple effect of our impact can be.
Photo credit: EWB-USA Chicagoland Professional Chapter