Saving the Niger Delta
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria formerly known for its green mangrove’s, rich riversides with abundant seafood, clean air and clear skies is now threatened by illegal Bunkering and improper plastic waste disposal.
Productsio Challenge boot camp batch 2 took place from September through November 2021 and ended with challengers coming up with a solution to mitigating the effect of Black soot and environmental pollution using digital means.
The Bootcamp was filled with interactive exercises ranging from Research exercises to critical workshops to ideation workshops, proto-presentations and Usability tests.
During the research stage, the Challengers focused on finding out;
- The effects of black sooth and environmental pollution on the human body? [Digging on the damages pollution can cause to human health, Physically or Mentally].
- What physical /psychological imprint does the situation have on residents in relation to their environment?[gain insight on opportunities and how pain points influence the lives of residents].
- Which factors propagate the situation?[Dig into motivations for indulgence].
The research stage was interesting for Challengers, they got to participate in a structured research exercise, ask questions and get insightful feedback from participants.
‘’The experience was insightful, we got to really understand what people were going through and how they have adapted to the situation’’
Challenger Clinton.
‘’This is the first time am participating in a research exercise, it was weird at first but later got interesting as participants said their challenges and pain points’’
Challenger Gift.
From research, the Challengers discovered that;
- Many individuals especially people from the Niger Delta region are benefiting financially from illegal bunkering although many are ignorant of the health hazards it is causing them.
- The probability of getting burnt alive is very high for people involved in refining the product.
- Most people are actually aware of the dangers of environmental pollution but they feel they’re in no position to do anything about it.
- Environmental health issues like marine life degradation due to oil spillage and improper crude waste disposal.
- Blocked drainages and improper waste disposal is major contributor to flooding.
- A huge percentage of pollutants littering on the riversides are plastic waste.
The research was done in 2 weeks and covered a wide range of users, this helped the participants to broaden their scope of assessment considering different classes of persona.
After the Research exercise Challengers uncovered some insights that helped them understand the motivations, opportunities and pains experienced by participants, they found that
- Illegal bunkering has created lots of job opportunities for people most especially youths in the region.
- Some communities in the Niger Delta are fully dependent on illegal bunkering for survival
- The use of recycled waste plastic has helped some individuals in carrying out their businesses effectively and with less cost so they don’t go surfing for plastic in the waste bin.
- Sales of illegal bunkering products are very profitable and the business has very low barriers of entry.
During the Ideation and Synthesis, stage challengers brainstormed on possible solutions to solve the issue using various techniques. These ideation techniques helped them in coming up with a solution that helps users access real-time air quality of their present environment, get tips on how the particulate matter of the air around them affects their health and access to recyclable waste buyers directory.
During the Bootcamp, Challengers had the opportunity to participate in Critical workshops which featured a wide range of professionals sharing their experience on branding, design thinking, career talks, and lots more.
After going through all these processes challengers finally came up with a solution that helps users
Check out the full case study here.
The next Bootcamp series will be kicking off visit www.productsio.com to learn more.
