-And undergoing an overhaul in Lamu Island, Kenya for a larger Sea Voyage, taking her message further and paving the way for a regional approach to tackling single-use plastics;
MAARUFU MOHAMED-GOLFNEWSLINKS;
After five years on the water, three sailing expeditions including circumnavigating the world’s second largest freshwater lake, inspiring millions and kick starting a “plastic revolution” across the region, Flipflopi Ndogo is out of the water and undergoing an overhaul in Lamu Island, Kenya.
According to the Flipflopi team, they have thanked all the individuals and organizations who believed in their vision.
“Flipflopi was initially built as a prototype and she successfully carried her inspiring message to communities by the lake and ocean but being the first of her kind we’re opening her up so we can rebuild her to be even stronger, taking her message further and paving the way for a regional approach to tackling single-use plastics, “they said.
Flipflopi Ndogo was also the catalyst for establishing so much more and it’s from her inspiration that set up their innovation, training and recovery and recycling facility which now provides an essential plastic waste management service to the Lamu archipelago with those most affected by plastic pollution having direct socio-economic benefits thanks to our core support through the UKAID SMEP Program.
The program has also enabled further R&D towards incorporating recycled plastic lumber as a standard boat building material for use in artisanal vessels and we already have two new boats in final stages for testing at sea.
The Team has begun the research and development for a bigger vessel, Flipflopi Kubwa, for which this rebuild is crucial as a model to test the durability and strength of our materials and techniques.
“Starting our boat-build 7 years ago under a humble shade at Ali’s boatyard with no equipment to now having an international team, 20 full time staff in Lamu and processing 12-15 tons of plastic waste each month, we’ve come a long way but know there is much more to do to reach a zero plastic waste goal. We produced a trilogy of videos in partnership with Precious Plastic that transports you to our Lamu HQ for a full tour of our operations, our Dau La Mwao boat-build and even highlights our new techniques such as plastic welding, “they said.
In the middle of last month of August, while their celebrating new mile-stones, the Team said “We’re an East African plastic revolution and a global movement with tens of thousands of supporters across the globe. Our first boat-build in 2016 began under a humble shade at Ali’s boatyard but at the time, we didn’t have any of our own recycling machinery so all parts were built at a workshop in Malindi that has since closed.”
Since then, Ali’s boatyard has transformed into a state of the art recycling facility with industrial machines, mountains of plastic waste coming in from our community thanks to financial support from the UKAID SMEP Program and incredibly talented team members who are carving plastics, teaching boat-building and recycling as well as innovating new products.
“As part of our vision has always been to scale the local circular economy, we opened a vocational training center that has seen 30 students come through the program to date in less than one year.
To visualize our growth, imagine this, we now process more plastic each month than it took for our entire first boat-build! Our multi-talented designer who’s also part of the Precious Plastic team produced a trilogy of videos that transport you to our sunny, beach side Lamu HQ for an insightful tour of our workshop, “The Team said.
They pointed out that their co-founders did not start off as plastic and recycling experts but were ordinary people who wanted to change the state of the local natural environment and so they turned to online resources and open source platforms such as Precious Plastic alongside.
“Our exceptional volunteers who had all the right technical skills and passion, and of course all the incredible financial support we have received from so many, which is all we needed initially, “noted the Team.
They said that Sharing information and resources to educate and influence innovation is at the heart of what they do and that’s why they are so grateful for the opportunity to show people how their students at the heritage boat-building training center built the Dau La Mwao, a traditional fishing boat.
“Since our first boat-build, we have significantly improved our techniques and equipment, learning along the way and developing new partnerships with institutions such as the Kenya Marine Authorities, University of Northumbria and Newcastle and companies such as Leister who have provided industry knowledge and a game-changing plastic welding tool, “said the Team.
They explained that Joining planks and filling gaps is a crucial part of the process at the Flipflopi and when they are finally figured out plastic welding, they couldn’t contain their joy.
ENDS;
