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Journal

Bins to Cash: A Team’s Action Learning Story

From the very beginning, our action learning journey felt different. It wasn't just about problem-solving, it was about understanding ourselves, each other, and the communities we aimed to serve. As the Bins to Cash team, our story unfolded in phases, some unexpected, some difficult  but all transformative.

Day 1: Seeing Through New Eyes

We began with a powerful self-organizing exercise. Taking on roles as individuals with different disabilities blind, deaf, and mute  we were tasked with reorganizing a party-themed space into an office setup. Suddenly, we had to communicate without speech, navigate without sight, and listen without hearing. It wasn't easy. But in that limitation, something beautiful happened and we leaned on each other.

This foundational experience seeded empathy, communication beyond words, and a sense of interdependence that would define our team.

Later that day, Delfi(Enaction Lead) guided us through a community walk, where we stepped out of our individual bubbles and into observation mode. We noticed how systems, people, and places interacted. The city spoke in patterns, behaviors, gaps and we began listening differently.

Day 2: Leadership Emerges, Teams Form

The second self-organizing exercise required us to create a more relaxed and creative environment. But this time, we had to choose our leaders. Three emerged organically. They each pitched their vision, and we formed teams by aligning with the leader whose idea resonated with us.

This day wasn’t just about arranging furniture. It was about negotiation, collective visioning, and beginning to define the roles we’d play within the Bins to Cash project.

We also explored the Emergent Learning Table, a four-quadrant reflection model. While we didn’t fully complete the table, it began to shift how we framed challenges: not as problems, but as opportunities hidden within facts and hypotheses.

Day 3: Ideas in the Open

Demo Pitch Day arrived. Each group had to pitch how we could make the Action Learning Journey more engaging. Putting our thoughts into a demo gave us clarity, we had ideas, but we needed structure. The feedback we received laid the groundwork for future iterations.

Day 4: Mini-Pitches and Energy Checks

We showcased snippets of our projects to encourage continued participation. It was a checkpoint to regroup, rethink, and reenergize.

Day 5–7: The Dream Village Shift

Our visit to Dream Village in Dambai was more than a field trip it was a mindset shift. Surrounded by syntropic farming techniques and sustainable Nubian vault constructions, we saw how real change was tied to nature, locality, and context.

We returned to Accra not just inspired, but changed. We wanted Bins to Cash to reflect sustainability, practicality, and community value.

Day 8–10: From Vision to Execution

We began coding. Using a timeline bot as our template, we started building the Bins to Cash bot, a platform connecting waste creators, collectors, and recyclers.

But the real world struck quickly. The JavaScript version faced technical hurdles and time delays. As a team, we made a bold decision: rebuild it from scratch in Python. That shift wasn’t easy, but it restored momentum.

Three of us visited a recycling company to conduct UX research during this period. These insights proved invaluable. We gained a deeper understanding of user pain points and fine-tuned our bot’s journey accordingly.

A new team member also joined, bringing in fresh ideas and contributing meaningfully to both the code and the design process. Collaboration deepened.

Day 11: Final Push

The final days were a blend of testing, polishing, and rehearsing our pitch. We brought everything together, the learnings, the code, the design, and the story.

Day 12: Presentation

Pitch day arrived. With cameras rolling and feedback flowing, we shared the heart of our journey not just as a story, but a collaborative attempt to turn waste into opportunity, learning into action.

Reflections and Insights

Throughout this journey, we discovered that:

  • Empathy unlocks collaboration. It wasn’t code or strategy that first bonded us, it was trust, built through vulnerability.

  • Flexibility is strength. When we had to switch programming languages midway, we didn’t panic, we adapted.

  • Community is the real curriculum. Whether through UX interviews or Dream Village, we learned most when we stepped outside the classroom.

Bins to Cash is still evolving  as are we. But this journey gave us more than a project. It gave us perspective, connection, and the belief that action and reflection  done as a team can change everything.