By Shirley Wandera
Close the Gap Hub, in partnership with Climate-KIC, officially launched the Repair Café as part of the Climathon Mombasa 2022 program which began in September. The Climathon was started as an initiative to curb the effects of climate change.
The Repair Café is a station for diagnosing and repairing electronic devices to extend their lifespan.
This is in line with this year’s Climathon theme of rethinking the normal, meant to encourage people to refurbish their electronic devices such as phones and laptops rather than dispose of them.
These devices make up a significant proportion of the waste discarded into the environment, which ends up not decomposing and polluting the environment.
Mombasa one of the most urbanized and industrialized cities in Kenya has over the last decade experienced some of the unprecedented effects of climate change. These include the climate-related drought in the North Eastern part of the country.
To curb these effects, Climathon Mombasa – a community of local change makers co-founded by the European Union, is working to help achieve a climate-resilient society.
This is made possible through their circular economy and systems change, which aims to formulate and implement measures to provide solutions.
Among the events, a hackathon to ideate solutions for 3 challenges highlighted by key partners (HiVOs, TNO, GZD) is set to take place. It will seek to find solutions to issues such as; the reduction of electronic waste, and food waste, and behavioral change to rethink mobility, electronics, and food waste.
Other activities to follow include, a cycling event and the zero-waste market day.
Research has shown that biking as a means of transportation, emits 75% fewer emissions, making it a great alternative to everyday transportation.
The majority of greenhouse emissions in Mombasa come from the transport sector, making mobility one of the major activities that need to be rethought hence the cycling event to advocate for sustainable means of transport. It is set to begin on 22nd October from Ratna Square Nyali to Swahili Pot Hub.
Eco market day will be the closing activity for the Climathon, where vendors will be selling environmentally friendly products to help people rethink and consider buying eco-friendly products.
The Climathon is scheduled to run until December 3rd, with all events aimed at making Mombasa a carbon-neutral city by 2030.
