Our objective is to develop an urban community based waste management business model that recovers plastic waste, organic waste, scrap metal and grey water for self sustained urban gardening inputs and resources to promote accessibility and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables by the low to middle income earners without leaving anyone behind.

The initiative started in 2017. We started with a one year pilot survey to identify urban gardening techniques that can be adapted bu the low income earners of Mozambique. The pilot survey was carried out in Maputo, in two high density urban settlements with one research center on a 40 square meter residential house with 15 urban community gardeners who were developed and supported throughout the initiative. During this period data was collected from the community gardeners to develop market oriented products and services. We developed 9 products to include; 1. Urban waste worm composting techniques. 2. Scrap metal gardening tools. 3. Polyester weaved grow bags and raised vegetable beds. 4. Rainwater harvesting techniques and kits 5. Simple hydroponic systems. 6. Brick and Bag gardening manual, Volume 1. 7. Urban gardening capacity building, training and landscaping services for improved nutrition. 8. Grey water 'FUTURE SINK'. 9. At the moment we are piloting on plastic recycling for gardening and hydroponic kits. We have made our products accessible through an established Brick and Bag gardening hardware with a Fruit and Vegetable shop in the center of the four low to middle income earners settlements. Our retail outlets also sell a range of products to provide a wider consumer choice.

Our ambition is to upscale the innovation through Urban Contract Gardening. We wish to contract at least 500 households by the year end 2020. Through this contract, different low-middle income earners will be provided with Brick and Bag gardening capacity building and training platform that will equip them with the sufficient resources to produce enough for home consumption with an excess that we will buy and sell via our Fruit and Vegetable shop. The Brick and Bag gardening wholesale will provide the technical support to the community. The above contract will be based on a 'Try and Buy model' with a direct technical support and input loan collection system. The community gardeners will also serve as the plastic waste collection point for the up scaling of gardening and hydroponic kits production. The success of these gardeners will be supported by our plan to build a Urban Gardening training center near Maputo City where at least 15 Gardening extension officers will be trained and graduated every year. At this training center we will also upscale the production of our products which will be done alongside extension officers modules.

In partnership with Via Water and Aqua for All, Global Industrial Marketing and Distribution Agency is running a project called Brick and Bag gardening. 'GIMDA' being the implementing partner. Our role is to develop and test ecologic techniques to cost effectively turn urban trash into an opportunity. We developed an Innovation called Brick and Bag gardening to promote Pro-poor vegetable gardening to enable us to test our techniques with those that are affected the most by sanitation and malnutrition problems. Our partners are the funding partners are also are responsible for the reporting of our findings. They are also helpful in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation part of the project. With a team -of five members Brick and Bag gardening has been initiated, controlled and supervised by the Founder and Director of GIMDA, Christopher Dodzo Armando who is the sole owner of a start-up called GIMDA.

Via Water and Aqua for All