Newsletter n°5
Our new members :
This year 2 expeditions have left to discover circular economy projects in Asia. The first one, composed of Clémence Robson, Julie Limasset and Virgil Hervagault, has just finished its tour in Nepal. They are now starting their 2-month trip in India and are currently in New Delhi. The second team is formed by Clémence Chatue, Clémence Gagnaire and Manon Mangin. They have just finished their first month in Vietnam and are currently in Cambodia !
In Paris, we welcomed Julie Le Roux, a new graduate from AgroParisTech, for the creation of our new analysis tool, which we will test with our two current expeditions.
Asian Expeditions
#Expé1 met 6 circular economy projects in Nepal, in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Nepal, a small country located on the Himalayas between the two Indian and Chinese giants, ranked 144th in the HDI, begins its economic expansion. This country still consists mainly of subsistence agriculture and its agri-food industry is almost non-existent. Most of the processed food supplies come from India. The 6 circular economy projects met deal with plastic waste, a real environmental scourge there, and with the creation of cooperatives and centers for economic and technical information in agriculture, that are still underdeveloped today.
#Expé2 spent its first month in South East Asia discovering projects in Vietnam !
During our trip from Hanoï to Ho-Chi-Minh City, we met 13 circular economy projects. All very young (most of them were created less than a year ago), they are symbolic of the exponential growth of the vietnamese economy and the increasing attention people give to their environment- and mostly about plastic pollution.
After crossing the boarder a few days ago, we are now on our way to discover new initiatives in Cambodia !
Under the Spotlight
#Expé1 – The Bazaar/ DV Excellus
The absence of a structured agricultural market in Nepal leads to drastic daily price variations. The Bazaar, with The Bazaar Agriculture Cooperative, has created a weekly market for vegetable farmers in Pokhara. The products come from Kaski District, where farmer property covers an average of 0.2 hectares (4 Ropani). The creation of the cooperative enables joint purchases for agricultural inputs, which reduces costs for farmers. It also aimes to provide professionals a regular supply.
They collaborate with DV Excellus, which is developing “Blooom”, a smartphone for professionals in the agricultural sector and buyers. For the time being, it provides a basic service to a 5000 farmers network.
The implementation of this application allows the collection of soil, crop and climate data, and will provide personalised and eco-friendly technical follow-up. In the long term, the objective is to extend throughout Nepal ! The network will extend to 10,000 members next month.
#Expé2 – Greenjoy Straw
The start-up from Ho Chi Minh is producing straws from a hollow grass which have been growing for centuries in the Mekong riversides : Lepironia Articulata. The straws are grown naturally and are chemicals free. After being dried, they can be preserved for 6 months until use. Then, they can be decomposed in natural conditions in less than 5 days.
These single use straws may not be the most fitting for personal consumption, however, they represent a good substitute for vietnamese shops and restaurants, which are excessively greedy in plastic straws.
Though it only represents 0,025 percents of the 8 tons of plastics dumped into oceans each year (National Geographic), still 8.3 billions straws pollute our beaches. Greener straws are a step toward a more sustainable world !
Our Website
A brand new category is opened in our website, the « Blog ». It will bring together all our articles previously released on Facebook. Our futur articles will be in the Blog part and we will publish an extract on Facebook with a link to read all the article on the Blog. However, our Instagram publication will not be changed.