A heartfelt thank you to our main sponsors

Our artist friend Fabrice has now also painted the logo of the Karl Feldhahn Foundation, which was founded this year, on our colorful container at the beach. We are extremely happy about that!

In addition to KAPPE Project Development from Braunschweig, the Karl Feldhahn Foundation from Hamburg is one of our largest supporters. Their support goes far beyond financial contributions: they accompany our work with great interest and provide us with valuable advice. A very special connection has also been created through the personal visits of Hendrik Kappe and Dr. Karl Feldhahn to Ghana.

A heartfelt thank you to both for their trust and generous support – and to Fabrice, who makes our gratitude visible through his art!

Creative environmental workshops – with music, art and dance

New impressions from our environmental workshops at the Kwaabuette School of African Music and Dance in Accra-Osu: Every Sunday, children and young people from the neighborhood still come together here to get creative together.

Through music, art and dance, we combine creative expression with environmental education – in cooperation with the Ghanaian environmental organization Won Bee Ga, Ba! Colorful drumsticks turn into images, and together we drum and play music.

Together we learn why we need to protect our environment, our beaches and our ocean – and how everyone can contribute to this.

One Love, One Ocean!

World Cleanup Day with the European Union

On the occasion of World Cleanup Day, the European Union, together with our WonBeeGaBa team, The Or Foundation, Tide Turners and many other organizations and volunteers, took on the task on the beach in Jamestown. Together, we removed an incredible 22,450 kilograms of waste. A big thank you to all those involved for this effort!

But with each flood, waste is once again washed ashore. Therefore, solutions need to be implemented immediately within the city – especially at the Korle Lagoon, the open sewage canals and waterways. The waste must be stopped before it reaches the coast and the sea.

At the same time, we are calling for stricter international rules against the flood of inferior fast-fashion textiles. Still too much clothing ends up in Ghana that can no longer be reused and becomes a waste problem here. Our efforts on the beach are important – but the causes must also change.

Farewell to Efo Martin K. Torgbe – with drums, dance and many memories

It is with great sorrow that we have said goodbye to Efo Martin K. Torgbe, who, together with Nii Adjarh Torto, ran our Kwaabuette music and dance school.

On Friday, Martin was laid to rest sitting on his drums. On Saturday, he was carried to the grave in a coffin in the shape of a large wooden drum that we had donated. Many family members, friends, and colleagues came together, including numerous musicians, drummers, and dancers with whom Martin had played.

The drum circle was danced and music was played – in this way Martin was once again right in the middle of it in a special way.

Of course, there were also many tears. At the same time, funerals in Ghana are very lively gatherings where old friendships are nurtured and new ones are formed. In addition to all the grief, life is celebrated above all.

Nii Adjarh Torto and the musicians and dancers of our school accompanied the ceremonies from beginning to end with great dedication. Martins family once again expressed their heartfelt thanks for our support.

Dear Martin, your music and everything you have passed on live on in our school.

National Sanitation Day – reviving a tradition

The National Sanitation Day has long been a tradition of coming together. We want to revive it: Every first Saturday of the month, our WonBeeGaBa team meets at the beach, where the Osu Klottey Lagoon flows into the sea.

This place is a critical point: Through the lagoon, waste from the city flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean. Together with the neighborhood, we want to build something new here and raise awareness about the particular problems at this location. Any help is very welcome!

After the cleanup, we are building our beach soccer field and making music together – accompanied by drummers from the Kwaabuette School of African Music and Dance.

Together with the Ghanaian Scout Association

Last Sunday, the Ghanaian Scout Association, the Ghana Scout Association, supported us in our beach cleanup campaign.

We are very pleased to be in contact with this large organization whose central themes are nature and environmental protection. There are many opportunities for future collaboration, bringing young people together and getting them actively involved. Perhaps this will even lead to an exchange with Scouting groups in Germany.

A heartfelt thank you to the Ghana Scout Association for their efforts!

Dance against the textile flood – at the Chale Wote Street Art Festival

On Sunday, at the Chale Wote Street Art Festival right in front of Independence Square in Accra, we had a large stage set up for our cause: Together with the Kake Dance Ensemble, we used dance, music, and our costumes made from beach waste to draw attention to the increasing pollution of our coast.

The collaboration continues: we are planning a two-hour performance and are already writing the script to depict Accra’s waste problems through music and dance.

Thank you very much to the stage and to everyone who helped make this performance possible!

A week later: the next waste flood

These photos from last weekend show our beach just one week after the last full cleaning. Again, large amounts of waste were washed ashore – especially textiles. The scale is frightening. Nevertheless, we continue and draw attention to this.

We document every cleanup operation, weigh the collected waste, and record identifiable clothing brands. Our close partner The Or Foundation is committed to passing on this data to the manufacturers. Because companies too need to take responsibility. We hope that they will support our work in the future and become part of the solution.

Costumes are made from beach waste

Together with our WonBeeGaBa team and the Kake Dance Ensemble, we have started creating costumes from collected beach waste. From plastic lids, old flip-flops, cans and textile remnants, we are creating stage costumes that we use to raise awareness about the waste problems on our coast through music and dance.

So many shoes on our beach

It is incredible how many shoes we collect during our beach cleanups. Among the plastic and textile remnants we always find shoes from well-known brands.

We hope that large companies such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok and others will take on more responsibility for what becomes of their products – and help find solutions for the waste on our coasts.

The Work Continues After the Clean-up

After our weekly clean-ups, the collected waste is weighed, the quantities are recorded, and the materials are carefully sorted. We separate recyclable from non-recyclable waste.

We pass the collected plastic on to local recycling companies or use it in our own creative recycling workshops. Non-recyclable waste, including large quantities of textiles, is transported to a secure landfill outside Accra with the support of our partner organisation, The OR Foundation.

Cleaning Up Together, Having Fun Together

We are delighted that the acrobats and dancers of the Kake Dance Ensemble support our regular beach clean-ups.

After all the hard work, there is always time for some fun together. Whether playing football or enjoying music, having a good time is an important part of our clean-ups. This time, the Kake Dance Ensemble rounded off the day with an impressive acrobatic performance.

Environmental Workshops: Learning to Sort Waste Through Play

At the Kwaabuette School of African Music and Dance, our environmental workshops combine music and dance with creative environmental education for children and young people from the local community.

This time, the focus is on sorting waste correctly: Which types of waste belong in which bin? Through playful activities, the children learn how to separate and dispose of different types of waste properly. The bins were kindly donated by our partner organisation Won Bee Ga, Ba!. A big thank you for their support!

Turning Plastic Bottle Caps into Works of Art

These colourful works of art were created during our workshops at the Kwaabuette School of African Music and Dance, together with our artist friends Fabrice and Benjamin.

Children and young people from the local community use collected plastic bottle caps to create colourful pictures and letters. By bringing together hundreds of individual caps, they create shared works of art, with every child contributing their own ideas and creativity.

Stronger Together – with The OR Foundation and Tide Turners

Together with The OR Foundation and Tide Turners, our Won Bee Ga, Ba! team took part in a clean-up at Jamestown Harbour. Our collaboration goes far beyond individual activities: once or twice a week, we support our partners’ clean-up efforts.

The OR Foundation also helps us transport our non-recyclable waste to safe landfill sites outside Accra, away from rivers and lagoons. After all, collecting waste is only part of the job.

A heartfelt thank you for this reliable partnership and the mutual support. Together for a cleaner coastline. On on we go!

Creative Ideas for Second-Hand Clothes – A Visit from House of Dsmith

We are delighted to welcome House of Dsmith! The young designers and seamstresses from the Kantamanto Market community give discarded clothes a new lease of life through their creative ideas. During our beach clean-up with Won Bee Ga, Ba! in Accra, they rolled up their sleeves and joined in.innen und Schneiderinnen aus dem Umfeld des Kantamanto-Marktes geben Altkleidern mit kreativen Ideen ein neues Leben. Bei unserer Strandaufräumaktion mit WonBeeGaBa in Accra packten sie tatkräftig mit an.

The beach makes it clear just how urgently we need to change the way we deal with clothing: large quantities of discarded textiles end up in the sea and the natural environment. Through their work, these young creatives show what can still be made from used clothing.

A heartfelt thank you to the House of Dsmith team for your visit, your hard work and your inspiring ideas!

Together for the Coast – Clean Party with the Buzstopboys

Our Won Bee Ga, Ba! team joined the Buzstopboys’ “Clean Party” in Accra! Together with many other dedicated volunteers, we rolled up our sleeves and collected plastic and textile waste from the beach.

Joint activities like these bring together people and initiatives committed to cleaner beaches and protecting the ocean. A big thank you to the Buzstopboys for organising the event and to everyone who joined in and helped! One Love. One Ocean.

Working Together and Getting Creative – A Visit from Upcycleit Ghana

The children from Upcycleit Ghana visited us on the beach in Accra! Together with our Won Bee Ga, Ba! team, they collected waste and helped remove washed-up textile waste from the beach.

There was plenty of creativity too! Using colourful bottle caps and other reused materials, the children created pictures of butterflies and turtles. The day brought together practical environmental action and the joy of creating something together.

A heartfelt thank you to the children and everyone involved for their hard work and creative ideas!

Making Environmental Education Creative

We are delighted to run our environmental workshops with the children at the Osu Klottey Music and Dance School. In our current workshops, the children use colourful bottle caps to create imaginative pictures, discovering through play how waste materials can be transformed into something new.

The workshops are led by local artists Benjamin and Fabrice from the neighbourhood. By experimenting and creating things themselves, the children experience environmental protection in a practical way – not just as a topic to learn about, but as something they can actively take part in.

Fast Fashion in Focus – A Visit from Deutsche Umwelthilfe

We were delighted to welcome Viola Wohlgemuth, environmental activist and expert on textiles and the circular economy at Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Environmental Action Germany), together with photographer and photojournalist Kevin McElvaney. During our beach clean-up with Won Bee Ga, Ba!, they saw first-hand the textile waste washing up along Accra’s coastline.

What we collect here week after week highlights the consequences of global fast and ultra-fast fashion consumption. That is why, alongside our efforts on the beach, political change is also needed. Deutsche Umwelthilfe advocates binding regulations to curb overproduction and hold manufacturers more accountable – so that countries like Ghana no longer have to bear the consequences of our throwaway fashion culture.

A heartfelt thank you to Viola and Kevin for your visit and your commitment to raising awareness of the situation in Ghana!

Dance Meets Environmental Protection

A special collaboration is enriching our Sunday beach clean-ups: our partnership with the Kake Dance Ensemble. Together, we use collected waste materials to create imaginative costumes and develop a dance performance that explores environmental issues.

Step by step, the space in front of our container is becoming a vibrant meeting place for environmental education, culture and art at weekends.

Good News from Accra!

Won Bee Ga, Ba! is now officially registered as a non-profit organisation (NPO)!

A heartfelt thank you to Solo and Linda for their dedication and hard work in handling the extensive administrative tasks – from the registration process to accounting.

Our Project Featured in the Local Newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung

We are very pleased that the article highlighted our environmental project, beach clean-ups and creative recycling workshops. Our sincere thanks for the coverage and for helping us raise awareness of our work!

We're Featured in the New Greenpeace Documentary!

We are excited to be part of a Greenpeace documentary highlighting the global textile waste crisis and its devastating impact on Ghana. Our collaboration with the Ghanaian community initiative Won Bee Ga, Ba! is also featured, particularly in episodes 3 and 4.

Here are the links to all four parts:

► Episode 1 – On the way to Ghana's largest clothing market

► Episode 2 – End of waste

► Episode 3 – Together against textile waste

► Episode 4 – We bring the textile waste back to the sender

Our aim is to raise awareness of environmental issues through creative and artistic activities and show that, by working together, we can make a difference.

Fast Fashion – How Clothing Becomes Waste in Ghana

Today, Greenpeace launched a campaign in Berlin to raise awareness of the devastating environmental impact of the fast fashion industry. We supported Greenpeace by collecting washed-up textile waste from Accra’s beaches, helping to highlight the scale of the pollution. Find out more here:  Greenpeace – Fast Fashion Pollution in Ghana

Love Parade Accra

Today, we tested our sound system on a tricycle! Our journey took us through central Accra, past Independence Square and all the way to the lighthouse in Jamestown.

“Love Parade Accra” or “Awareness Walk for Accra Beach”? We still need to come up with the right name! Our idea is to take to the streets of Accra on the last Sunday of every month, using music, dance and acrobatics to raise awareness of our weekly beach clean-ups.

Opening of Our Plastic Recycling Workshop

Today, we officially opened our plastic recycling workshop and worked with our partner organisation Pyramid Upcycling to plan the first recycling workshops for 2024.

The purchase of a plastic shredder and an extruder was made possible through the generous support of Karl Feldhahn from Hamburg, Germany. A heartfelt thank you for making this possible!

Pyramid Upcycling shares its expertise in plastic recycling with us. Through regular workshops, our Ghanaian volunteers learn how to operate the machines and gain practical experience of the different stages of the recycling process – from processing collected plastic waste to creating new products.

Project Visit 2024 – Day 7: A Successful Conclusion

With Karl’s departure, the main part of our project visit came to an end. To mark the occasion, Solomon surprised us with traditional Ghanaian outfits that he had specially made for us.

Project Visit 2024 – Day 6: Kwaabuette Cultural Centre

On the sixth day of our project visit, we visited the Kwaabuette Cultural Centre. Its director, Nii Adjarh Torto, showed us around, shared the story of how the centre was established and gave us fascinating insights into traditional drum language and communication.

At the end of our visit, recycling artist Ed-Franklin Gavua presented Stefanie, Hendrik and Karl with a handmade mask each as a small token of appreciation for their support.

Project Visit 2024 – Day 5: Meeting with GIZ

On the fifth day of our project visit, we attended a meeting with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – German Agency for International Cooperation).

We had the opportunity to present our environmental project and gain valuable insights into GIZ funding programmes in Accra.

Project Visit 2024 – Day 4: KAKE Dance Group

On the fourth day of our project visit, we attended a performance by the KAKE Dance Group. Eight young members of our volunteer team are also dancers and acrobats in the group.

It was fascinating to see how KAKE combines traditional music and dance with modern styles. In the future, we hope to involve the entire group, which includes more than 50 children and young people, more closely in our environmental project.

Project Visit 2024 – Day 3: Visiting The OR Foundation

On the third day of our project visit, we visited The OR Foundation, which regularly supports our beach clean-ups with up to 100 volunteers.

A major focus of their work is the enormous amount of textile waste polluting Accra’s beaches and rivers. Paul Dufour, who has been in close contact with Claas Wiechmann for many months, showed us around the organisation’s research laboratories and workshops, giving us valuable insights into their work. Find out more: www.theor.org

Project Visit 2024 – Day 2: Visiting Pyramid Upcycling Enterprise

Visit to the local plastic recycling company Pyramid, with whom we have set up an experimental workshop over the past few weeks. Here, we turn the plastic waste we collect into beams and planks to make benches and tables for our Community Point at the beach. The recycling specialist who supported our project in 2024 is Alinko Ibrahim. He has helped us in many ways and will also provide our volunteer team with monthly training courses next year, focusing on plastic recycling and how to operate recycling machines.

Project Visit 2024 – Day 1: Accra Central Beach

On the first day of our project visit, we visited Accra Central Beach, where our team of 15 volunteers carries out weekly Saturday clean-ups. Before heading to the beach, however, we first had to work together to clear away a pile of sand that had been dumped in front of our equipment container.

Once on the beach, we worked together to dig a large car tyre out of the sand and finally set up the football goals. Our volunteer team was especially happy to receive new football shirts, generously donated by SUPR Sports from Hamburg, Germany. Great teamwork and a successful first day!

Project Visit 2024 – Day 1: Visit to the Ga Traditional Council

On our first day in Accra, Claas Wiechmann, together with Stefanie Wünsch, Hendrik Kappe and Karl-Andreas Feldhahn, visited the Ga Traditional Council, which also houses the office of our partner organisation Won Bee Ga, Ba! (“Come! Let's clean Accra”).

Project leader Solomon Okuley has been in close contact with Claas Wiechmann for many years. His uncle, Nii Dodoo Nsaki II, is the former President of the Ga Traditional Council, who has supported our project in many ways since the very beginning.

Our Children, Our Hope – Art and Music Festival in Accra

The Abajo Band Is Joining Us!

A heartfelt thank you to Kay Boni, director of the Abajo Culture-Art Café, and his band, who will also be supporting our Sunday beach clean-ups! Musicians play an important role in our project. They help raise awareness of our work within the local community, inspire people to care for the environment and encourage more volunteers to get involved. And of course, music, community spirit and fun are all part of it! Our motto is: “Whistle and smile under your difficulties.” Even when facing challenges, we believe in staying positive, finding solutions together and never giving up. With that spirit, a warm welcome to the team! Akwaaba!

Musicians play an important role in our project. They help raise awareness of our work within the local community, inspire people to care for the environment and encourage more volunteers to get involved. And of course, music, community spirit and fun are all part of it! Our motto is: “Whistle and smile under your difficulties.” Even when facing challenges, we believe in staying positive, finding solutions together and never giving up. With that spirit, a warm welcome to the team! Akwaaba!