bold idea
End preventable diarrheal diseases caused by poor sanitation in marginalized communities in Ghana by transforming plastic and wood waste into construction materials to create toilet systems.
organization overview
In West Africa, most of the population does not have access to a household toilet. This major sanitation deficit leads to children dying each day of preventable diseases caused by poor sanitation. Loo Works manufactures toilet systems composed of a container-based toilet attached to a biological digester, giving households a hygienic, low-cost toilet system that does not need to be emptied regularly. Loo Works’ toilet systems save lives while using recycled plastics and sawdust, otherwise known as wood plastic composite. This process upcycles the thousands of tons of plastic waste generated in-country each day.
Personal Bio
Samlara Baah is the founder and CEO of Loo Works, an organization using plastic waste to create sanitation solutions for marginalized communities in West Africa. Samlara has a vision of creating pathways and resources for Africa. She aims to be remembered as someone who added a new dimension to all the good Africa has to offer. Samlara has focused on advocacy, community sensitization, and developing solutions for the communities she serves. She has worked on environmental solutions with organizations like the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, Oxfam, and the Dutch government, among others. Upon moving back to Ghana, it didn’t take long for Samlara to realize the sanitation crisis the country was experiencing. She took the lead to find a solution that could serve the masses. Samlara is a Harvard Mason Fellow and an Adrian Cheng Fellow. She has an MBA from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MPA from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Samlara is a 2020 Echoing Green Fellow.
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