Coral Col, Colombia

Challenger Profile at a Glance

Meet the Coral Col team from Colombia. Find out how they launched their initiative as part of the 2020 International Climate Action Challenge. Their mission is to create awareness in schools and communities about solid waste issues and solutions.

Team

#3: Coral Col
Challenge Goal: Create awareness in schools and communities about solid waste management, through science communication, arts, and workshops
Location: Buga, Valley del Cauca, Colombia
Registered Challengers: Claudia Lorena Hurtado Toro, Elia Elizabeth Pérez
90-Day Challenge Period: September 1 – November 30, 2020

Impact

Here are some highlights of the Coral Col’s impact during the 90-day challenge period:

Founded a new team with 6 members
Developed a logo and launched a Facebook page and Instagram account
Held 3 community events with 44 participants: an art activity for kids, a talk about solid waste in the sea, and a river clean-up
Collected 75 kg of trash
Shared 7 stories on Facebook and Instagram
Developed 21 partnerships

Challenge Experience

What parts of the challenge were most helpful to you?

“The book and workbook are really important because they start guiding the process,” said Claudia. “What do we have to do first? What do we have to do second?” The book helped the team prevent overwhelm, put things on paper, and start doing it.

“In terms of my experience, it was very cool and very rewarding,” said Elia. “We learned to get all the initiatives we had well organized. That helped us create a series of steps and follow them throughout this challenge.”

Support from the mentors was also really important. “Direct contact with experienced people in the area helped us create a clear idea of what we want and how we should do it,” said Claudia.

More resources in Spanish would be helpful to make it easier to communicate with the Spanish speakers on the team.

Next Steps

Moving forward, the team is planning to expand its efforts in 2021 by:

Continuing the activities already started
Meeting with the local community board to develop environmental projects.
Giving talks in schools about the issue of waste
Continuing to look for potential partners and grants

Advice

What does the team recommend for others who want to make an eco-impact?

Organize your ideas and activities well before carrying them out, so you have a clear view of the process and progress.
Get as many partners from different backgrounds so you can complement the group.
Work hand-in-hand with the community from beginning to end, as it is crucial for the success of the projects to have their collaboration and approval.