Aware of the more than 21 thousand tons of garbage produced daily throughout Peru, 45% of which is placed in inappropriate places, either due to the lack of education and environmental culture of the population or poor management by local governments, the company associated with Perucaña, Agro Industrial Paramonga, located in the province of Barranca, north of Lima, through its Social Responsibility Policy within the line of action of environment and ornamentation, held a contest, in the district of Paramonga, in order to promote the care and maintenance of its streets. This contest consisted of choosing and rewarding the street that improves the city’s appearance through cleanliness, care of buildings, ornamentation, street furniture and the creativity of the neighbors to make their street “the most beautiful street”.
This initiative was conducted through a call through social networks and various local dissemination channels. Each participating team or street had forty-five days to conduct the corresponding repairs and improvements. Subsequently, the evaluation process was carried out, where three criteria were evaluated: cleanliness, order, and ornamentation. The jury was made up of municipal authorities and company officials. Twenty-four thousand soles ($6500) were distributed among the winners, which were invested in the realization of a communal work that will benefit the neighbors of the area that participated in the contest.
In addition, Agro Industrial Paramonga continuously monitors the participating streets to ensure that the proper management of solid waste, cleanliness, order and care of the streets are sustainable over time. At the same time, ornamental plants were donated, motivating the population to continue improving the district’s green areas.
The good reception of the contest by the population of Paramonguina is reflected in the registration of 14 streets in 9 areas of the district, the participation of 213 households and the more than 600 people who were involved. This initiative has had a positive impact on the people, 58% of whom continue to work as a team, with 67% of the participating streets remaining clean and 50% continuing to receive improvements.
The aim is to encourage the population to take action to address the problem of hygiene and cleanliness in the city, and to motivate the community to conduct good environmental practices through harmonious teamwork to achieve collective benefits. In addition, and as a reinforcement, several environmental education talks are being held in low-income areas and schools to strengthen knowledge regarding the proper management of solid waste generated by the community and the importance of caring for the environment.
It is worth noting that the lack of hygiene, cleanliness and cleanliness in rural areas is a problem that affects various areas of the country, and at a macro level, negatively impacts the ecosystem. It is in this way that the action taken by Agro Industrial Paramonga meets several Sustainable Development Goals, mainly SDG 11: “Sustainable cities and communities”, which aims to build safe and sustainable spaces; achieved with good environmental practices through the conservation and improvement of the ornament, making this initiative more remarkable and replicable, which is in line with its commitment to provide development and growth to its communities, positively impacting thousands of families.