Competition launched for eco-friendly homes |06 October 2011

The competition was launched yesterday morning at Ile Perseverance in the presence of the principal secretary for environment Didier Dogley, principal secretary for land use Christian Lionnet, principal secretary for social development Linda William, and other government officials and stakeholders.

Organised by the Sustainability for Seychelles (S4S) non-governmental organisation, the competition is open for all, from home-owners to tenants, from houses to flats.

The criteria includes architectural design of the home, such as if it allows natural air to flow inside, energy and water conservation devices used, if and how the waste produced by the household is sorted, and how other activities to reduce their impact on the environment are done.

Prizes for the competition are funded by the Barclays Bank, whose representative Colleen Morel said is actively involved with community-based projects as part of its social corporate strategy.

“Every year we support a number of community projects and we see the sustainable homes competition as one that will have a positive ripple effect on the community, society and beyond,” she said.

The competition also seeks to recognise families who are demonstrating the most commitment and innovation in sustainable living and at the same time promote social, economic and environmental benefits of these practices more widely.

Before he officially launched the competition, PS Dogley said there needs to be a bigger trend of promoting a “green movement” where people would each make a personal contribution to make the world more environmentally friendly, but there is no better place to start this off than in our own homes.

“We should each take time and work on a plan to see how we can make our homes more environmentally friendly,” he said.
 
“We all know that devices such as solar panels, photovoltaic systems, water-saving devices and so on all cost a lot, but the public should know that they bring long-term benefits. The Public Utilities Corporation has also put in a place a micro-loan system to buy some of these devices,” he noted.
The deadline for registration is November 11.