Nanda van den Ham
Being outdoors. The Alkmaar canals. Nanda lives for it. No wonder she was looking for a way to get out into the fresh air more often.
Which she finally found on the water. On a SUP board to be exact. With her board she sails the canals, looking for litter to clean up. Sometimes she does it alone, but people regularly join her during such clean-ups. "Together we can make a difference."
SUP stands for Stand Up Paddling: standing on a board, you move around the water while paddling.
"My mission is to make the world a little more beautiful every day. With the SUP I used to take litter out of the water, to sort it and recycle it as much as possible. I built on that and that's how I came to found El Kombi. Since then, we regularly organize cleanups in Alkmaar's canals. Anyone who wants to help can join in for free."
Zero Waste
"The less waste we create, the better. Small changes can already make a big difference." A great example is bringing your own cup, tray and cutlery when you get something to eat somewhere. By handing out stickers to stores and restaurants in Alkmaar where they sell unpackaged food, Nanda hopes to get as many business owners and individuals as possible on board with this switch. She also hopes that people will realize that the current consumer society takes a heavy toll on our globe. "If everyone does their bit - and that really doesn't have to be a very drastic switch - we can all make the world a little nicer. Because actually, in a few years I want to be redundant with my cleaning sessions!" !
We are fortunately seeing positive change. Disposable cups are mostly replaced with reusable cups, balloons are replaced with cloth flags, and items on the boats are better secured so it doesn't blow away on the way. People are already more aware and acting accordingly. How nice is that!"