Ocean Plastic – Get Stuffed!
Donation protected
Our Story
When you’re living on just a few hundred pesos a day, affording the basic necessities for survival in remote areas can be extremely difficult. In rural areas of Palawan access to any sort of income is very limited and plastic waste can be found everywhere including in the stomachs of just about every marine organism. The women and families in the communities we accompany are calling for jobs to be able to purchase basic necessities and provide a better life for their children .
The central objective of this project is to train women in rural areas of Busuanga, Palawan in recycling of ocean plastic so that they may generate additional income from the production of upcycled plastic products and improve the standard of living for themselves and their families. Creating employment opportunities is vital to reducing fishing pressure on coral reefs already overwhelmed with fishing and extraction activities.
Through this project, we aim to transcend the top-down charity approach that tends to predominate. By teaching rural women to produce salable products from waste, they will be able to support for themselves and their families for a lifetime. Furthermore, the money we generate from selling items goes toward a community savings and loans fund that acts as a source of capital for initiatives like small businesses so that members may lift themselves out of poverty.
Why it matters?
This goal is both vital and urgent. The Philippines is the 3rd largest emitter of ocean plastic in the world and without an end to production of most kinds of single use plastics, we will continue to drown is a sea of plastic. We need to find ways to recycle and repurpose what is in the ecosystem now while keeping up the pressure to completely end single use plastic production.
In many parts of the world, a clean environment is not considered a human right. Not so in the Philippines where the poor coastal inhabitants and Marine life are choking on plastic. They need your help now.
How will the funds be used?
This project is implemented through The Coral Triangle Conservancy and the Lifeboat Coastal Fishing Watch Platform in Busuanga, Palawan. Funds will be used to purchase a Sailrite® Walking Foot Sewing Machine for US$1400 and the remaining balance will be used for shipping tax and starter materials to create our first batch of sample materials.
The most commonly collected types of plastic are single use plastic bottles and Styrofoam . Unfortunately these materials have low recycling value so we are going to grind up tens of thousands of these plastic water bottles and stuff the plastic and Styrofoam confetti in sofa cushions and bean bags which have been presold to Coron business establishments. Ocean Plastic- Stuff-It!! . . .and let the tourist visiting Coron and Busuanga know that the cushion under their butt is made from plastic debris recovered from the ocean before it could kill marine animals; collected and assembled by Tagbanua women trying to clean their ocean environment and lift their families out of poverty.
If we exceed our funding goals the money will go towards training more participants, buying more canvas/snaps/zipper materials, and spent on sales and marketing to grow demand for the finished goods. Progress will be measured twice a year, based on the number of people served, funds spent, and any challenges or unanticipated benefits.
Key Stats:
· In the Philippines, 21.6% of the population lives below the national poverty line. The proportion of employed population below US$1.90 purchasing power parity a day is 8.3%. According to Unicef, every day, 95 children in the Philippines die from malnutrition. Twenty-seven out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday. A third of Filipino children are stunted, or short for their age.
· Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. There may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the open ocean. Weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.
· As we know, plastic is strong, flexible and durable making it extremely useful, however that also means it never really breaks down. A plastic bottle can last for 450 years in the marine environment, slowly fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces which eventually end up microscopic but never truly go away. This means that every piece of plastic that has ever been produced is still with us, in some form.
· The Precious Project is a proven approach that has been picked up by hundreds of people around the world that built the machines and started recycling plastic waste.
Thank you !
When you’re living on just a few hundred pesos a day, affording the basic necessities for survival in remote areas can be extremely difficult. In rural areas of Palawan access to any sort of income is very limited and plastic waste can be found everywhere including in the stomachs of just about every marine organism. The women and families in the communities we accompany are calling for jobs to be able to purchase basic necessities and provide a better life for their children .
The central objective of this project is to train women in rural areas of Busuanga, Palawan in recycling of ocean plastic so that they may generate additional income from the production of upcycled plastic products and improve the standard of living for themselves and their families. Creating employment opportunities is vital to reducing fishing pressure on coral reefs already overwhelmed with fishing and extraction activities.
Through this project, we aim to transcend the top-down charity approach that tends to predominate. By teaching rural women to produce salable products from waste, they will be able to support for themselves and their families for a lifetime. Furthermore, the money we generate from selling items goes toward a community savings and loans fund that acts as a source of capital for initiatives like small businesses so that members may lift themselves out of poverty.
Why it matters?
This goal is both vital and urgent. The Philippines is the 3rd largest emitter of ocean plastic in the world and without an end to production of most kinds of single use plastics, we will continue to drown is a sea of plastic. We need to find ways to recycle and repurpose what is in the ecosystem now while keeping up the pressure to completely end single use plastic production.
In many parts of the world, a clean environment is not considered a human right. Not so in the Philippines where the poor coastal inhabitants and Marine life are choking on plastic. They need your help now.
How will the funds be used?
This project is implemented through The Coral Triangle Conservancy and the Lifeboat Coastal Fishing Watch Platform in Busuanga, Palawan. Funds will be used to purchase a Sailrite® Walking Foot Sewing Machine for US$1400 and the remaining balance will be used for shipping tax and starter materials to create our first batch of sample materials.
The most commonly collected types of plastic are single use plastic bottles and Styrofoam . Unfortunately these materials have low recycling value so we are going to grind up tens of thousands of these plastic water bottles and stuff the plastic and Styrofoam confetti in sofa cushions and bean bags which have been presold to Coron business establishments. Ocean Plastic- Stuff-It!! . . .and let the tourist visiting Coron and Busuanga know that the cushion under their butt is made from plastic debris recovered from the ocean before it could kill marine animals; collected and assembled by Tagbanua women trying to clean their ocean environment and lift their families out of poverty.
If we exceed our funding goals the money will go towards training more participants, buying more canvas/snaps/zipper materials, and spent on sales and marketing to grow demand for the finished goods. Progress will be measured twice a year, based on the number of people served, funds spent, and any challenges or unanticipated benefits.
Key Stats:
· In the Philippines, 21.6% of the population lives below the national poverty line. The proportion of employed population below US$1.90 purchasing power parity a day is 8.3%. According to Unicef, every day, 95 children in the Philippines die from malnutrition. Twenty-seven out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday. A third of Filipino children are stunted, or short for their age.
· Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. There may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the open ocean. Weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.
· As we know, plastic is strong, flexible and durable making it extremely useful, however that also means it never really breaks down. A plastic bottle can last for 450 years in the marine environment, slowly fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces which eventually end up microscopic but never truly go away. This means that every piece of plastic that has ever been produced is still with us, in some form.
· The Precious Project is a proven approach that has been picked up by hundreds of people around the world that built the machines and started recycling plastic waste.
Thank you !
Fundraising team (2)
Baz Gentil
Organizer
Scott Countryman
Beneficiary
Scott Countryman
Team member
