In the last five years various sustainable development projects have been established.

Through a project sponsored by the British Embassy, and making use of our own teaching center, the Asociatión has trained 300 women as monitors for a community project which involved creating 40 ecologically sound productive units in 40 schools. Each unit includes the making of exercise books from recycled paper, a centre to recycle non organic  waste products, such as plastic, glass and aluminum and the establishing of a compost heap and a vegetable garden. School children have received instruction on how to turn their old exercise books into new ones. In some cases sufficient non-organic waste was collected and sold, that the proceeds made a significant contribution towards the cost of extending school premises. This was an ambitious project which benefited 40 schools serving low-income groups with more than 5.000 pupils. The educational impact extended to parents, relatives and neighbors.

In cooperation with the Municipality of Tudela in Navarra, Spain, we started a programme to collect waste using10 specially designed tricycles. Women from the Association teach families how to separate their waste and a tricycle collects it at regular intervals. The non-organic waste is then taken to a warehouse where every week it is sold and provides a source of income to pay for the service. The organic waste is recycled in proper compost pits.   This pilot project has been established in two communities, Ciudad Talanga and Valle Grande where very narrow streets make it impossible for rubbish collection trucks to enter and  previously trash accumulated at the street corners causing bad smells and contributed to unhealthy living conditions. Even though at the moment only 900 families participate in the project, it is hoped that in the not too distant future similar areas all over the city of Cali will receive this service. “Rubbish is Valuable,” is the slogan used. In a country where unemployment and marginal or informal employment is a huge problem, recycling as a business has the potential to provide a  source of income for many families.