Pelorus SHE Trash4Cash Initiative
Bolstering our Social, Health and Environment initiative: turning beach clean ups into a livelihood and a biodiversity win for the Mama Karanga fishmongers of Kanamai BMU.
With the KAMAMKUKI Joint Co-Management Area and Kanamai Beach Management Unit
Social
Women's groups and peer networks
Health
Cleaner beaches, safer communities
Environment
Plastic removed, habitats protected
S.H.E. stands for Social, Health, and Environment, the three strands Oceans Alive has woven together for female fishmongers it calls the guardians of the ocean.
The Ripple Effect
How 19 Women Became a Coastwide Movement
The Pilot
With Pelorus Foundation support, 19 women fishmongers formed the Kuruwitu Women Group, piloting a trash for cash approach to beach clean ups.
The Proof
The idea grew: 100 women now sell collected plastic to a recycling company, and 600 are involved in climate smart permaculture.
The Replication
Experienced Kuruwitu women became peer trainers for the new Soft Coral Kanamai Self Help Group, passing on everything they had learned.
Peer to Peer Training
What the Kuruwitu Women Pass On
- Institutional capacity building and group formalization
- Village Savings and Loan Association operations
- Benefit sharing standard operating procedures
- Plastic processing, recycling, and agreements with recycling companies
Oceans Alive backs every group with training manuals, leaflets and guidebooks, so the model keeps travelling long after the trainers go home.
The Kanamai clean ups protect more than income: they guard a beach that is one of the area's prime sea turtle nesting sites, tying every bag of plastic removed to a nest with a better chance of surviving.
Help Empower More Women Fishmongers
Your support helps carry trash for cash livelihoods and beach clean ups to the next BMU along the coast.