Coconut shells had somehow found a second life as bowls, cups, spoons, and soap dishes, alongside bags, compost manure and liquid fertilizer, each offering a practical demonstration of what can happen when materials once regarded as waste are viewed differently. The Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), convened a Learning and Knowledge Management Workshop in Angwan Doka II, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on the 20 August 2026. An event that also marked the closeout of the project, “Harnessing Bio Waste Value to Enhance Climate Smart Agricultural Production and Sustainable Livelihood in Angwan Doka 2, Karu LGA, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.”
Throughout the project, beneficiaries were introduced to practical approaches for managing waste and converting biowaste into useful resources. Janet Ferdnard a beneficiary of the project, spoke about how the knowledge and support she received, particularly around fertilizer, had made farming easier. She also learned to produce reusable bags, which she said has become a source of livelihood for herself and her family. For Veronica Omuh, the project introduced her to sack farming, a practice she says is helping her provide food for her family. These experiences captured an important dimension of the Waste-to-Wealth Project: its impact was not limited to materials distributed or training conducted. The intervention also sought to strengthen knowledge, confidence, cooperation and community ownership.
This was reflected in the workshop itself. Beneficiaries, community leaders, project staff and stakeholders came together not only to review the project’s achievements, but to document experiences and lessons that could inform what happens next. The exhibition provided another layer of learning, allowing participants and stakeholders to see how the knowledge acquired had translated into tangible products and to discuss possibilities around product development, marketing and commercialisation.
The Nigerian Programme Coordinator of the UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme, Dr Mrs Ibironke Olubamise, stressed the importance of collective action in addressing environmental challenges and highlighted the potential of waste to become a resource that creates jobs and improves livelihoods, particularly for women and young people.
The real test of a community intervention is not only what happens while the project is active, but what people are able and willing to continue doing afterwards. In Angwan Doka II, that legacy is beginning to take shape in different ways: in a farmer using sack farming to support her household, in a woman producing reusable bags as a source of income, and in waste materials being transformed into products with practical and economic value.
The Knowledge Management and Closeout Workshop captured the lessons of the Waste-to-Wealth Project while challenging beneficiaries and stakeholders to keep applying, sharing and building on what they had learned.