Project Wings
history
History of the Founding
Our team is just as diverse as it is determined. We want to give something back to the planet!
Four people – one vision.
Between 2017 and 2018, we, Marc, Basti, Leonie and Erich, got to know each other while working for various aid organizations. As face-to-face fundraisers, we traveled all over Germany and together gathered over 12 years of experience in direct exchange with thousands of people.
In doing so, we understood what many organizations fail to see. Environmental protection matters to many people, but it’s often not tangible enough to truly act on.
For us it was clear. If we really wanted to change something, we had to make environmental protection understandable, tangible and socially accepted.
With this ambition, the idea of founding our own organization was born. Thought differently, closer to the people and with real, practical solutions.
Why Sumatra?
In 2018, Basti traveled to Indonesia to find out on the ground how to take action against plastic waste and environmental destruction. Through a friend, he got in touch with Janine, a German woman on Sumatra who was already working on the plastic problem.
At her guesthouse, Basti met Anto, who taught him about plastic waste, palm oil plantations and the challenges of building an environmentally sound future. Observing turned into participating. Together they developed the ecobrick deposit system, in which plastic is collected, turned into ecobricks and paid for in return.
The system was well received, offering the local population an additional source of income and reducing plastic waste on site. When space at the guesthouse ran out, the ecobricks moved to Masno, a local with his own “Green Class.” Together with him, the vision arose of a place built from ecobricks that wouldn’t just process waste, but also share knowledge.
That’s how a journey, a contact and some first ideas laid the foundation for the organization.
We must act.
It is now up to us to make the topic of environmental protection socially acceptable.
To this end, we have set up “Project Wings” according to the 33 biggest donation problems. All the criteria for why the more than 500,000 people do not support an organization, or why they absolutely want to support it, have been taken into account and implemented in the basic concept of Project Wings.
Over the last few years, the small group of four has become a colorful team that is bursting with ideas! A wide variety of characters contribute their diverse skills to preserve our planet for future generations.
What have we achieved so far?
Since Project Wings was founded in March 2019, we have already made a lot of progress and achieved numerous goals. Together with volunteers, sympathizers, experts and many supporters from Indonesia and Germany, we have been able to grow strongly to this day. We are constantly trying to develop ourselves further, optimize processes, learn from mistakes and, together with other organizations, pool knowledge and channel solutions.
In the meantime, we have been able to construct seven important public buildings made of Ecobricks on and around the recycling village with our innovative construction method and two more are nearing completion. So far, more than 220 tons of plastic waste have been collected, cleaned, processed and reused. Together with local organizations and the support of the government, we are in the process of establishing the region’s first waste management system.
Over 45,000 trees have been planted so far and meaningful animal welfare programs have been implemented. We were also able to get children and young people in many schools in Germany interested in the topic of environmental protection and support our regional orchards. We are constantly trying to develop ourselves further, optimize processes, learn from mistakes and, together with other organizations, pool knowledge and channel solutions.
What areas are we active in?
Get to know our team and Wings World.
BECOME A WINGS MEMBER
Support the areas of nature conservation, animal welfare and humanitarian aid with a regular donation.
Thanks to your help, we can make a contribution to environmental protection in Germany and Indonesia!