BRAVO BiH

“Zovem se Hilmo Kapić. Nakon gotovo 30 godina boravka u Americi, prošlog ljeta sam se ratio u BiH. Mislim da sam odgojen da poštujem prirodu i cijenim naša prirodna bogatstva, pa je tako i interes za bolje upravljanje resursima. U Americi, gdje sam proveo većinu svog života, postoji dobra infrastruktura za brigu o otpadu iz domaćinstva i slično, i tu sam stekao dobre navike (od odvajanja otpada pa nadalje). Trgovina ZERA, kao što joj samo ime govori, ima za cilj da podrži ekološke navike u svakodnevnici, kroz promociju smanjenja otpada i korištenja materijala koje imamo za proizvodnju novih korisnih i praktičnih proizvoda. I supruga i ja baštinimo slične vrijednosti kad je u pitanju interes za zaštitu prirode i savjesnije ophođenje prema okolišu, pa sam se odlučio da pokrenem trgovinu ZERA, zero waste prodavnicu, koja do sada nije postojala u BiH. Zajedno sa bh brendovima Organlook, Naturalno.ba, Bubamara i Wooling a i u sopstvenoj radionici ekotvorine, nudimo apciklirane proizvode (ruksake, nesesere, bisage, futrole za laptop, itd.) kao i proizvode za njegu na bazi smanjenja otpada: čvrsti dezorodoransi,

šamponi, balzami, losioni te platnene uloške, rukavice za piling od vune. Važno je da napomenem da se sve proizvodi unutar BiH i to je naš primarni motiv. Vjerujem da promocijom korištenja nečega što je odbačeno pokazujemo da otpad nije smeće već resurs koji se može iskoristiti. Na primjer, ruksaci koje dizajniramo su napravljeni u kombinaciji sa materijalom marketinških banera koji su već iskorišteni i poslužili su svojoj prvobitnoj svrsi. Produžavanjem njihovog životnog vijeka kroz novi proizvod, preusmjeravamo ih u dalje korištenje, umjesto na deponiju. Osim toga, uskoro ćemo u radnji uvesti i princip popusta na kupovinu novog proizvoda uz povrat ambalaže starog. Koristimo materijal marketinških banera koji se većinom sastoji od fleksibilnog PVC-a, a sam materijal je vrlo teško reciklirati, a zbog svojih karakteristika dugotrajnosti i otpornosti, vrlo pogodan za apciklažu, tj. kreativnu prenamijenu. Naš je cilj da u dizajnu i proizvodnji radimo od postojećih materijala a ne da proizvodimo nove, trošeći ograničene resurse. BH brendovi sa kojima sarađujemo koriste samo prirodne sastojke u svojim proizvodima. U BiH raste broj ljudi koji se zanimaju za ovakve ekološke proizvode, ali to je i dalje jedna manja zajednica ljudi. Mnogo je više onih koji kupuju brzu modu i stvari koje se proizvode van BiH i uvoze iz dalekih zemalja. Oslanjamo se na savjete prijatelja i stručnijih od nas te se s time nosimo sa izazovima i svakako se trudimo da se poboljšamo. Mislimo da širimo pozitivne navike i podržavamo svakoga ko želi da se okrene životu sa manje otpada. Uz objave na društvenim kanalima, pišemo i o važnosti tog proizvoda i kako njegovo korištenje doprinosi manjem oštećenju okoliša. Imamo i blog na našoj stranici. Nadam se da možemo da i dalje radimo i širimo saradnju sa drugim bh. brendovima, s obzirom da postojimo tek nekoliko mjeseci. Mislim da će u BiH pojam cirkularne ekonomije tek da zaživi, a za to je potrebno da učestvuju svi dijelovi društva, od institucija, poslovnog sektora do zajednice. Savjet koji bih dao drugim preduzetnicima koji žele da implementiraju cirkularne i održive prakse u svom poslovanju jeste da se odvaže da krenu tim putem jer ulaganje u takve prakse se dugoročno isplati. U našem domu razdvajamo otpad i odvozimo u zasebne kontejnere. Bio otpad odlažemo na kućni kompost. Trudimo se da kupujemo rinfuzno, da sa sobom uvijek imamo svoju vrećicu ili ambalažu za pakovanje poput pamućnih ili višekratnih vrećica za voće i povrće.  Rekao bih da ima mnogo vrlo korisnih dokumentaraca koji govore o nastajanju otpada i kako se on može iskoristiti. Jedan od najzanimljivijih je svakako The Minimalist koji je dostupan na Netflixu i Youtube platformi i govori o životu sa manje materijalnih stvari.”

“My name is Hilmo Kapić. After spending almost 30 years in America, I returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) last summer. I believe I was raised to respect nature and value our natural resources, which has fueled my interest in better resource management. In America, where I spent most of my life, there is good infrastructure for household waste management and the like, and I developed good habits there (from waste separation onward).
 
ZERA Shop, as the name suggests, aims to support ecological habits in everyday life through the promotion of waste reduction and the use of materials we have for producing new useful and practical products. Both my wife and I share similar values when it comes to interest in nature conservation and conscientious environmental behavior. Therefore, I decided to start ZERA, a zero-waste store, which had not existed in BiH until now.
 
Together with Bosnian brands like Organlook, Naturalno.ba, Bubamara, and Wooling, and in our own eco-craft workshop, we offer upcycled products (backpacks, pouches, saddle bags, laptop cases, etc.) as well as low-waste personal care products: solid deodorants, shampoos, balms, lotions, as well as cloth pads and wool exfoliating gloves. It is important to note that everything is produced within BiH, which is our primary motivation.
 
I believe that by promoting the use of something discarded, we demonstrate that waste is not garbage but a resource that can be utilized. For example, the backpacks we design are made in combination with materials from used marketing banners that have already served their original purpose. By extending their lifespan through a new product, we divert them from the landfill. Moreover, we will soon introduce a discount principle in the store for purchasing new products upon returning the packaging of old ones.
 
We use material from marketing banners, which mostly consist of flexible PVC. This material is very difficult to recycle, but due to its durability and resilience, it is very suitable for upcycling, i.e., creative repurposing. Our goal in design and production is to work with existing materials rather than producing new ones, thus conserving limited resources. The Bosnian brands we collaborate with use only natural ingredients in their products.
 
In BiH, the number of people interested in such ecological products is growing, but it is still a small community. There are many more who buy fast fashion and products produced outside BiH and imported from distant countries. We rely on the advice of friends and experts and strive to improve as we face challenges. We believe we are spreading positive habits and supporting everyone who wants to live with less waste. Along with posts on social media, we write about the importance of these products and how their use contributes to less environmental damage. We also have a blog on our website.
 
I hope we can continue to work and expand cooperation with other Bosnian brands, considering we have only been in existence for a few months. I think the concept of a circular economy will just start to take off in BiH, and for that, all parts of society need to participate, from institutions and the business sector to the community.
 
The advice I would give to other entrepreneurs who want to implement circular and sustainable practices in their business is to dare to take that path because investing in such practices pays off in the long run. In our home, we separate waste and take it to separate containers. We dispose of bio-waste in a home compost. We strive to buy in bulk, always carry our own bags or packaging like cotton or reusable bags for fruits and vegetables.
 
I would say there are many very useful documentaries about waste generation and how it can be utilized. One of the most interesting is definitely “The Minimalists,” available on Netflix and YouTube, which talks about living with fewer material things.”

ABOUT IDEA

“Improved Employability through circular economy education for Adults” (IDEA) is a 24 months Cooperation partnership aimed at promoting Circular Economy and Sustainability among unemployed adults, by fostering a greater interaction between the European Green Deal and the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. In the 24 months of cooperation, IDEA Consortium will implement:
 
– 3 Transnational project meetings
– 1 JSTE aimed at:
a) providing comprehensive joint learning and exchange between the participants on tools and methodologies to foster Circular Economy and sustainability through art, craft and NFE methodologies
b) testing the Training Format produced in R1
c) lay the foundation for the co-creation of the activities to be included in the R2 and tested in the local phase
– Local workshops involving participants in the C1 as trainers and unemployed adults, to test the activities to be included in the R2 and lay the foundation for the co-creation of the video-tutorials to be included in R3.
Who is BRAVO? Watch a video below and enjoy <3

On the video below you can hear very useful information for this mobility.

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