It has been a packed two weeks for me and the last three days have been even more packed.

I traveled to Ondo state in Southwest Nigeria for a Community Learning Programme workshop organized by IMESO IMESO for the Commonwealth of Learning.

At the workshop,which started on Tuesday, I was lodged at the Royal Birds Hotel,Akure and so were other 18 participants. It was a fruitful workshop and one that gave me an enormous joy as I moved closer to being a CLP developer. 

However, in line with my resolve to introduce and represent TUNZA Eco-Generation everywhere I go,I made my co-participants understand what Eco-Generation is all about and what I do to represent them both individually and collectively on the first day of the workshop.

But, on the second day of the workshop, I had the opportunity to make more impact.

As we returned from our lunch, I watched our table carefully and inquisitively and I observed that everyone one of us had at least two bottles of table water in our front because table water is the water that is served to all guests at the hotel. I now decided to calculate the number we consumed on the average daily assuming that everyone takes two on the average and the figure was 38 bottles of table water for a day, so for the three days we spent there,we consumed an average of 114 bottles of table water.

At the end of the second day of the workshop,I went to see some of the hotel staff and as I met them,I asked if they were the ones that produce their water? They said no.

I asked if they had a recycling plant? They had none and obviously didn't know what a recycling plant is. I told them what a recycling plant is and how beneficial it could be especially for their hotel if there was one around.

I requested that they show me their dumpsite which they reluctantly did as they're skeptical of why I wanted to see it.

I took the pictures and returned to my hotel room with one thing in mind meeting the hotel manager or the representative the next day to make important suggestions in the light of my observation.

The day came and it was the third and final day of the workshop and my mind was on finishing the impact I was already making at the hotel.

So,immediately it was time for lunch, I used a part of my lunch time to meet with the representative of the hotel manager as they told me that the manager was at the newly completed version of the hotel at another location called Alagbaka.

I now started speaking with the lady that served as the representative of the hotel manager and told her that I wasn't happy over the way those bottles of water are being disposed. I suggested that purchase a special receptacle to collect used bottled water and take them back to the manufactures so that they can recycle and use it in further production. I made it clear to her that the special receptacle will make it easier for them to take those bottles back to the manufacturers. I told her that they can make small money off that,save resources and that even the manufacturers of the bottled water will be impressed by the idea and would like to see it materialize.

In her response the lady(representative of the hotel manager), who was already nodding in consonance while I was speaking,gladly welcomed the idea and promised that she will relay the information to the hotel manager. She was visibly impressed by the idea and from the feelers I got, the hotel is likely to act on the idea.

And then,I leaving Ondo state now to return to my base in Eastern Nigeria, but I leave happily having left them with a message that will help save the environment.

(NB: I couldn't take some pictures because they sometimes weren't comfortable with that)