Initiatives

The golden Ginkgo trees has always been a signature scenery of Beijing’s autumn. However, the Ginkgo nuts from these trees drop during the same season, releasing an unpleasant odor when stepped on and also causes the roads to become sticky and difficult to clean. In my community, there are hundreds Gingko trees, causing heavy discomfort. Such a cyclical issue constantly annoys the residents, leading to the initiation of “Friends of Ginkgo”.

Target Population

The primary target population for “Friends of Ginkgo” is the low-income elderly residents of my neighborhood. Since my neighborhood is close to many schools, a lot of elderly people come from rural areas to take care of their grandchildren. They barely have any income, so they rely on methods such as recycling cardboards to make some income.

Action

Recognizing that transportation was the key issue, I reached out to the neighborhood managers of a local pharmacy and set up a designated selling spot in our neighborhood. Here, the elderly drop off their packages of Gingko nuts, and the pharmacy’s truck collects them at regular intervals. A major portion of the profit from the nuts is then distributed among the elderly collectors. As a result, the collectors came more frequently and collected fresher nuts.

Significance

“Friends of Ginkgo”, from the collecting to selling, includes a closed cycle that involves many groups like the elderly, community managers, pharmacy managers, and other residents.

The elderlies GAIN a stable income;
The pharmacies GAIN a stable supplier;
The community GAIN a certain amount of profit while also reducing the work of cleaning;
The residents GAIN a better environmental condition;