Samir Lakhani, 26, is a social entrepreneur dedicated to restoring health and dignity to developing countries through environmental initiatives. Prior to founding Eco-Soap Bank in 2014, Samir was deeply involved in climate-resilient aquaculture and nutrition projects in northern Cambodian villages. He has also developed solar lighting social enterprise projects in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Currently, he serves as the Founder & Executive Director of Eco-Soap Bank—a global soap-recycling organization—which operates in 10 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. To date, Eco-Soap Bank has reached over 1.1 million people with recycled soap and free hygiene education. In 2017, Samir received a CNN Hero Award for his work with global hygiene.
In this episode we cover:
- How do you recycle soap in a sanitary way?
- How is soap that is not recycled impacting our environment?
- Where do you get the soap and who receives the recycled soap?
- How do you change the everyday habits of a community that is respectful of their history and traditions?
Key Takeaways:
- 5 million bars of soap are thrown away EACH DAY! And it’s not biodegradable!
- Recruiting hygiene ambassadors that are of the local culture helps spread the message more effectively.
- When you have big ideas, don’t wait for it to be perfect, launch it now! But also consider longevity.
- Get involved with Project EcoSoap – donate to the Kickstarter and help spread the word!
Samir Lakhani and Project Ecosoap Online:
- Project EcoSoap on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/projectecosoap/project-ecosoap-zero-waste-big-impact
- Project EcoSoap website: https://projectecosoap.org/
- Eco-Soap Bank: https://ecosoapbank.org/
- A fun video message from Samir about EcoSoap!
- Project EcoSoap on Social Media:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/projectecosoap
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/projectecosoap
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/projectecosoap
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCObHCVqoIDGrpRR5mJfGl1A
Suggested Resources from Samir:
Suggested online resource:
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YouTube! You can learn anything from how to build wind turbines to how to drive stick shift!
Books:
- Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance