LUZERA, Uganda (AP) — Flowering plants grow as if by magic from Lake Victoria on a wooden boat, giving it a lush setting that charms many visitors.
The initial attraction becomes even more compelling when tourists come to Uganda You know the greenery comes from an innovative recycling project that uses thousands of plastic bottles covered in dirt to stabilize the boat.
Former tour guide James Katieba started building the boat in 2017 in response to tons of plastic waste he saw in the lake after heavy rains. He realized the ship could serve as an example of a sustainable business on the shores of Lake Victoria: a floating restaurant and bar that could be undone by drifting for fun.
Many of those who come to relax here in Luzira, a lakeside suburb in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, know nothing of the boat’s background. It is first and foremost a “conservation effort,” Catiba insists, a one-man attempt to protect one of Africa’s greatest lakes from degradation.
Lake Victoria It is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and spans three countries. However, it suffers from waste runoff and other pollution, sand mining, and lower water levels due in part to climate change.
Layers of plastic waste float near some beaches during the rainy season, a clear sign of pollution that worries fishing communities that rely heavily on the lake.
“The fact that we have a pollution problem as a country… I decided to design something out of the ordinary,” Kateba said, showing off the lake’s skyline tinged with green matter that suggested pollutants from a nearby brewery.
He began by asking fishermen from nearby landing sites to collect plastic bottles for a small fee. He got more than 10 tons of bottles in six months. The batches were tied into fishing nets and smeared with hardened dirt, creating the stable bases on which the boat moored and which were also great breeding grounds for climbing tropical plants.
Today, Katteba said, the boat, which is being marketed as the floating island, can comfortably serve 100 visitors at a time.
“This is morning glory,” he said proudly, caressing a vibrant flowering vine one afternoon as he prepared to unwrap the boat to entertain his customers. Elsewhere on the boat, a group of TikToking teens are dancing. Upstairs, a carpenter was building a new wooden sundeck.
Jaro Matusiewicz, a visiting businessman from Greece, said he had “never seen a place like this before”, praising the boat’s “relaxed” atmosphere as it sipped on fish and chips.
“This is a very good idea,” he said. “If he collects and uses bottles, great!… You’re not only cleaning up the environment, but you’re also doing something very unique and unique.”
A similar project launched in 2018 on the shores of Kenya, where a small boat, known as the Flipflopi, is built entirely from recycled plastic that once littered beaches and sandy towns along the Indian Ocean.
In 2021, Flipflopi is embarking on a Lake Victoria trip to “raise awareness of Pollution affecting the region’s most important freshwater ecosystem, According to the United Nations Environment Program.
Katiba said he hopes his boat will be exemplary.
“I’m sure, with some experience we gain from this,” he said, “we should be able to encourage others to design things.” “Other ways, not necessarily this kind… of trying to deal with plastic pollution in Lake Victoria.”
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