<<

| LEARNING REPORT Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

FAUNA & INTERNATIONAL’ S

Weaving for

Developing successful plastic waste-based enterprises: lessons learned from Nicaragua INTRODUCTION

FFI began the Weaving for Nature initiative Plastic pollution poses a global problem, harming in 2007 as part of wider marine conservation efforts , altering and adversely in Nicaragua aimed at improving affecting human health. With research into protection of nesting turtles in and around plastics limited to the last two decades, it is the Rio Escalante-Chacocente Wildlife Refuge, possible that further studies will reveal other sinister and this has since expanded to FFI’s other sea impacts. Some of the solutions aimed at reducing turtle conservation sites along the Pacific Coast. plastic pollution in the world’s involve Along with poaching of adult sea turtles and developing livelihoods around plastic upcycling – their eggs, the prevalence of plastic bags littering using plastic waste to create products that have a nesting beaches was considered to be a greater social/economic value. However, threat, as they are known to be consumed by enterprises that rely on plastic waste have their sea turtles. The Weaving for Nature approach was associated risks and require careful consideration. predominantly developed as a local livelihood This paper reflects on the successes, challenges initiative to reduce the drivers of egg poaching, and learning from Weaving for Nature, to share our whilst also removing plastic bags from beaches experiences with other initiatives that aim to tackle where they posed an ongoing threat to sea turtles marine plastic pollution through developing and reduced the quality of the beach. livelihoods based on the use of plastic waste. Jorge MartinezJorge - FFI

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Rio Escalante-Chacocente Wildlife Refuge the income from selling eggs and sea turtle (hereafter Chacocente) on the south Pacific products (e.g. shell). A sea turtle conservation coast of Nicaragua is an area of global biological programme was developed by FFI to address these importance, both for its sea turtle nesting threats at Chacocente and other nesting beaches beaches and for protecting one of the most along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, including important remaining fragments of Central Estero Padre Ramos, a protected area that is home American dry forest. FFI started working at to the largest nesting population of critically Chacocente in 2001, when Halcyon Land & Sea1 endangered hawksbill turtles in the eastern Pacific secured eight hectares of privately owned coastline Ocean. The programme implements a range of and associated dry forest that was threatened by strategies including community ranger patrols, development. This area is now establishing community hatcheries, raising part of the wildlife refuge, and includes one of awareness and – through support from the Darwin the region’s four mass-nesting sites for the Initiative – supporting local people to find a vulnerable olive ridley turtle, and a primary sustainable source of income, for example through nesting site for the critically endangered Pacific Weaving for Nature. This livelihood initiative has leatherback turtle. However, the sea turtles faced the added advantage of reducing the prevalence of significant threats from poaching of eggs and adults plastic bags – known to be consumed by and pose by marginalised local communities that relied on a risk to sea turtles – on nesting beaches.

1A conservation fund established in 1998 to find innovative and entrepreneurial ways to secure threatened sites, funded by Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin - and Hugh Sloane. www.fauna-flora.org 2 WEAVING FOR NATURE INITIATIVE

The Weaving for Nature initiative was launched In Nicaragua, FFI initially promoted this initiative in Chacocente in 2007, as a partnership between across five coastal communities and it has been FFI and WIDECAST (Wider Turtle fully adopted by one, namely Astillero, Conservation Network), who were already a community near Chacocente. These are the implementing a parallel initiative in Panama, same communities with whom FFI is working more Costa Rica and elsewhere in Nicaragua. The broadly on sea turtle conservation, as they initiative involves the formation of women’s neighbour beaches that have high levels of nesting weaving groups, who collect plastic bags that are and therefore egg poaching. The targeted polluting beaches and weave them into products communities were known to be poaching sea turtle for sale, predominantly to tourists. The aim is to eggs, including many of the weavers themselves, increase the household income of the participating and/or their family members. These sites also women, thereby decreasing their incentive to have high levels of plastic waste due to the ready poach sea turtle eggs, and at the same to use of plastic by a relatively large population reduce the amount of plastic pollution on important (attracted to the area by the potential income from sea turtle nesting beaches, to reduce the risk of egg poaching), a lack of waste disposal facilities, sea turtles consuming plastic bags. and consequent widespread discarding of plastic into the environment. Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

www.fauna-flora.org 3 THE PROCESS

Plastic bags are collected from sea turtle nesting soap, disinfectant and water, and hang them up to beaches and surrounding areas by the weavers dry for two days. Once the bags are dry, they cut and their family members. Additionally, to off the bottoms and handles, leaving the ‘body’ of supplement supply, networks with local shops, the bag, which is then cut into strips, creating family and friends have been established to plastic ‘yarn’ that can be rolled onto a bobbin, provide the weavers with discarded plastic bags. ready for weaving. The plastic yarn is then woven Once the plastic bags have been collected, the into a range of products (e.g. bags, purses and weavers grade the bags based on their feel2. The belts) of varying sizes. Once complete, the finished weavers and their family members subsequently articles are transported from the rural project sites wash the selected plastic bags three with to be sold in popular tourist markets in Nicaragua.

COLLECTING TRANSPORTING CUTTING (e.g. from GRADING WASHING WEAVING products from into strips beaches based to remove plastic yarn rural locations to turn into and local on feel contaminants into products to markets plastic ‘yarn’ networks) for sale

Figure 1 Typical process undertaken by the weaving groups

Since 2007 FFI has helped to develop the initiative through providing technical and financial support including:

• Recruiting an in-country coordinator and establishing a board of trustees, assigning mentor to oversee implementation and act as a weaving group roles and legal registration; focal point for training, developing market links • Building the weaving groups’ capacity for and problem solving; business planning, enabling them to manage • Emphasising the key principles of the initiative, funds and members, produce high-quality specifically the conservation objectives, the products and define production parameters; requirement that only littered plastic bags are • Setting price points, developing the necessary used, and the environmental consequences of infrastructure to ensure successful sale of purchasing plastic bags; products and providing resources and funding • Developing appropriate management and to produce marketing materials; governance of the weaving groups, including • Making recommendations based on a business strategy review. Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

2If bags are too flimsy for weaving (e.g. made of degraded, recycled or biodegradable plastic) they are either used for practising the weaving technique, or the initiative finds the most responsible possible way of dealing with them, as they are unsuitable for turning into woven products for sale. www.fauna-flora.org 4 SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS

The Weaving for Nature initiative has successfully increased local income and contributed to a wider programme of work that has improved sea turtle conservation. There are also anecdotal reports suggesting that plastic pollution levels on and around beaches have reduced, and that women feel empowered as a result of the initiative.

The initiative has helped to More than 52 channel an average of 200,000 women weavers are US $125 plastic bags have been currently transformed into products in extra income back to each developing worth US$5-60 each, and an weaver per month. products. average of 100 articles per month were sold3.

In Chacocente, the initiative has also Local community members contributed towards the impact of report a significant FFIs wider sea turtle conservation programme, which during the 2017/18 nesting season resulted in decrease no poaching in plastic of leatherback turtle eggs from nests, whereas all nests were being pollution poached prior to FFIs intervention. on nesting beaches as a result of the initiative. Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

3Figures cover the period from 2012-2015. www.fauna-flora.org 5 CASE STUDY

The weaving group in Astillero is the longest- planning, marketing and branding. The standing and most well-established group made Astillero weaving group has become a local up of 28 women. The group has a clear champion, providing support to younger, management structure, a coordinator, and a smaller weaving groups. board of directors. They have established a This weaving group has also successfully ‘demonstration workshop’ in which the women established a unique brand identity – its can weave products, demonstrate the weaving products are seen as synonymous with sea turtle technique to visitors and sell their products. With protection and clean beaches. This is a popular support, the group has set price points concept among tourists, therefore the bags have (determined by the size and type of the product attracted increasing attention, including interest and the average number of hours of work from high-end hotels in Nicaragua, which has invested), developed direct market links to enabled the enterprise to gain traction in a tourist hubs and improved its business competitive market. Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

POLLUTION OUTCOMES

Reports indicate that the initiative has contributed unsuitable, such as putting them into whatever to cleaner nesting beaches through reducing the formalised waste management system exists at amount of plastic pollution, and thus the risk of the project site. sea turtles consuming plastic bags. A woman from Additionally, community members in Astillero the weaving group in Astillero recounted: feel very positive about the reduction in plastic “I feel that in some way we have contributed waste, as they recognise the positive impacts on towards a change in Astillero, because if you the environment: came here six years ago, that over “I alone with this project have recycled there would be filled with bags that were more than 8,000 plastic bags that had been being blown into the air towards the sea.” thrown away in our community, and that, I As well as cleaning up what is on and around think, is a great help for the environment” beaches, it has contributed to behaviour change, and how this benefits sea turtles: because the people engaged in the initiative no longer simply discard plastic bags – those that “We have a slogan that says: ‘one plastic are suitable for weaving are given to the weavers, bag less, one more turtle’. Because when and the initiative identifies the most responsible we avoid a plastic bag going into the sea, a way possible of dealing with those that are turtle cannot eat it, and that turtle can go on to reproduce.”

www.fauna-flora.org 6 Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

SOCIO- ECONOMIC OUTCOMES

The initiative has successfully increased husbands with short-term loans (e.g. to buy fishing household income, and empowered the women materials), and at times of financial difficulty they involved to take control over how this money supply the household income. is spent: Women were a disadvantaged group within these “I remember when I received the money marginalised communities, but the initiative has from the first bags I sold, I was able to brought them together so that they share a organise the first birthday party for my son.” common purpose, and has boosted their self- esteem and sense of motivation: The financial results are self-evident, as the initiative has helped to channel an average of “I am a grandmother. I am a wife. I am US$100 in extra income back to each weaver a housewife. I am also a weaver. I am per month, contributing on average 45% of Wonder Woman!” household income in a region where the average As a result, the women are empowered to take salary is estimated to be US$200 per month in a more control over their , for example they are fishing household. starting to use family planning to achieve their Participation in Weaving for Nature has been desired family size. shown to improve the social status of the women Additionally, providing women with fundamental involved. The in-country coordinator observed that: business skills, including how to navigate “The weavers’ families acknowledge that negotiations and market their products, places they are working women, who provide them in an increasingly strong position within income to their households, despite caring communities to capitalise on other economic for their children, working in the house, or opportunities. This initiative enables women to doing other economic activities.” begin to develop social and economic autonomy in an area where employment opportunities are often Men in the communities take the weaving work male-dominated. seriously as the women sometimes provide their

www.fauna-flora.org 7 BIODIVERSITY OUTCOMES

Weaving for Nature has contributed to a significant Additionally, Weaving for Nature has contributed reduction in sea turtle egg poaching among to efforts to reduce the illegal targeted fishing of participating communities, as part of FFI’s wider sea turtles at sea by increasing local sea turtle conservation efforts. In particular, this understanding of their conservation importance, initiative has provided families previously reliant on as well as providing fishing families with a sea turtle poaching with sustainable livelihood sustainable source of income and reducing options and changed attitudes towards sea turtle their reliance on sea turtle products. This is conservation, thereby reducing the incentive to demonstrated by a reduction in the number poach eggs. Alma reported that: of small boats known to target sea turtles in the area. “Many of the women, and many of their relatives who are now part of this initiative, Nonetheless, there are still some challenges used to go to the beach to poach turtle to overcome. FFI’s sea turtle conservation eggs. Now they visit the same beach, but programme has not completely eliminated egg to clean it.” poaching in the region and political turmoil has made protection efforts challenging, as well During the 2017/18 nesting season in Chacocente, as having an impact on tourism on which the 100% of the nine leatherback turtle nests were weaving group depends. However, the protected from poaching, resulting in the release of programme continues to provide incentives and 137 leatherback turtle hatchlings into the sea, knowledge to change poaching behaviour, whereas 100% of nests were poached prior to and to protect nests. FFI’s intervention. Jorge MartinezJorge - FFI

www.fauna-flora.org 8 LESSONS LEARNED

Pursuing an enterprise that relies on plastic waste highlighted above. In developing Weaving for in order to tackle plastic pollution requires careful Nature, and trying to make it sustainable, a examination of potential social, livelihood and number of lessons have been learned, which we health implications. If appropriately considered, have shared here to help those planning on this type of enterprise can achieve positive developing this kind of enterprise. environmental and socio-economic impacts, as Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

ENSURING THAT THERE IS SUFFICIENT MARKET DEMAND

It is important to undertake a market analysis at the that international and relatively wealthy national enterprise design , to determine whether tourists remain the only viable market in Nicaragua. there is sufficient, and ideally growing, market In order to increase the stability and resilience of demand for the products that the enterprise intends the enterprise, weaving groups are being supported to produce. This requires engaging with to find other outlets, particularly targeting a range of different market actors within the international markets, recognising that their market system to ensure that demand (not supply) products may need to be adapted to respond to is the driving force of the enterprise. There are consumer preferences. The enterprise is now on many ideas for ways in which to use plastic the cusp of engaging with international clients, waste to create products, and there is a growing creating potential for expansion and diversification. danger of market saturation due to increasing Given that this will see the enterprise moving in competition in this . In the case of new directions, in order to diversify its products Weaving for Nature, demand is driven by tourists and add value, external expertise is being brought interested in their positive environmental impact, in to draw on experiences of other highly and so the products are distributed to tourist successful initiatives, to help create products that hubs in Nicaragua. Given the labour-intensive bring something new to the market and can achieve nature of Weaving for Nature’s products, the a premium price that offsets investment. price points are set relatively high, meaning

www.fauna-flora.org 9 BUSINESS PLANNING AND HIDDEN SUBSIDIES

Developing a business plan is essential for setting covered by donor funding. These are effectively up an enterprise, including the critical step of external subsidies that mask the true cost of determining the amount of capital required to operations and require incorporating into the finance the enterprise and sustain it into the enterprise cost structure, in order for Weaving for future. A good business planning process Nature to be truly financially viable in the long identifies both fixed and variable costs, as well as term. As such, the coordinator is currently building initial start-up costs and longer-term investments the capacity of group members to be able to that may be required to scale up the enterprise undertake her role in the future. In addition, over time. It is important to recognise ‘hidden’ lessons learned with Astillero are being used to subsidies that can threaten the viability of the inform the work with newer groups, including enterprise if not taken into account in the business through peer exchanges between groups; it is model. In the case of Weaving for Nature, the FFI therefore anticipated that these groups will require in-country coordinator’s employment costs, and fewer years of externally funded support than has transport of products to market, are currently been the case for Astillero.

ENSURING A CLEAR LINK TO REDUCING DESTRUCTIVE PRACTICES

One of the challenges associated with livelihoods understanding of the conservation importance of initiatives is that target households may adopt a sea turtles); using the initiative to specifically target new project-promoted activity as a supplementary the people whose behaviour they aimed to change rather than an alternative livelihoods strategy. This (local women and their family members); and can be a problem where existing strategies are supplementing this with raising awareness among environmentally damaging. In the case of Weaving weavers, their families, and the wider fishing for Nature, ensuring a clear link between community about the conservation importance of benefitting from the enterprise and a reduction in sea turtles. As such, this initiative, as part of the egg poaching was ensured by: gaining a thorough wider sea turtle conservation programme, has understanding of the drivers of unsustainable sea successfully brought about behaviour change as turtle egg poaching (low income and poor evidenced by a reduction in poaching. Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

www.fauna-flora.org 10 AVOIDING PERVERSE INCENTIVES

It is possible that an enterprise reliant on plastic This was achieved by establishing the principles waste will need to address the challenge of and strategic objectives on day one, and the groups perverse incentives. For instance, some producers agreeing that buying bags would not achieve the may prefer to obtain their raw materials from enterprise’s objectives, given the importance of sources other than waste plastic if those sources conservation impact. As a result, the weavers have are easier to access, cheaper, better quality, ensured that these principles are upheld by all require less processing or are otherwise preferable. involved in the weaving groups. The only reported In the case of Weaving for Nature, the enterprise incident of a woman purchasing plastic bags reached a point where the number of plastic bags resulted in the woman confessing that she had collected from beaches was insufficient to meet the done so, and handing over the plastic bags, as she demand for woven products. Additionally, the felt that she had violated her own moral code and plastic bags found were not always of appropriate the principles of the group. The enterprise has now quality. Care needed to be taken to ensure that the established networks with local shops, family and enterprise did not incentivise the women to friends to obtain more waste bags from surrounding purchase plastic bags or reels of virgin plastic areas, which could have otherwise ended up ribbon to meet the demand for woven products. polluting the environment. Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

CREATING DEPENDENCIES ON PLASTIC WASTE

Whilst enterprises based on plastic waste can becoming unavailable, Weaving for Nature has help to reduce the amount of plastic reaching the invested considerable support into teaching the environment, ultimately there is a global imperative women transferrable business skills to ensure that to reduce our reliance on non-essential plastic they can diversify markets and products. FFI is now products, and governments are increasingly adopting capitalising on these skills, and supporting the policies, such as plastic bag bans, to bring about this weaving groups to develop other sustainable change. Therefore, there is a risk that enterprises livelihood activities that utilise alternative source reliant on the presence of plastic waste will not be materials, reducing reliance on plastic waste in the viable in the long term, and thus will not achieve the long term. Some women have also used income and desired social or conservation outcomes. the skills developed through Weaving for Nature to establish other micro-enterprises, such as a small To address the fact that the plastic landscape may general store. change in Nicaragua, resulting in plastic bags

www.fauna-flora.org 11 Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

ASSESSING THE SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY OF WORKING WITH WASTE

Millions of people make a living by working with governments and the corporate sector to create waste – be it collecting, sorting, recycling, or safe, dignified jobs for poor people working with developing new products through initiatives like waste. However, local perceptions of collecting Weaving for Nature. Although these activities and working with waste still need to be considered contribute to the economy, can benefit the when developing livelihoods initiatives, in order to environment and provide important services, in ensure the social status of participants is not some parts of the world there can be a stigma adversely affected, with knock-on effects for attached to working with waste. In many countries, enterprise success. efforts are being made by development agencies,

MANAGING HEALTH RISKS POSED BY PLASTICS

There is currently significant discussion about, and surface area to volume ratio, are disproportionately emerging research into, the health risks that marine able to attract high levels of pollutants from plastics pose to local communities, particularly surrounding water. Based on what we know to date, those arising from toxins and . Toxins are it is felt that the health risks to the weaving women either inherent additives or concentrated as a result of handling plastic bags are likely to be environmental pollutants that plastics accumulate in minimal. For more information on potential health the marine environment. Bacteria of concern mainly risks associated with using plastic in livelihoods arise from sewage outfalls and agricultural initiatives, please see the ‘Tackling plastic waste and discharge. The majority of research to date has pollution for human health and marine biodiversity – a focused on microplastics, which, due to their large call for action’ joint paper. www.fauna-flora.org 12 KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN DEVELOPING PLASTIC WASTE- BASED ENTERPRISES:

• Is there sufficient market demand? • How will the participants’ livelihoods be made resilient, in case the plastics • Is the business plan feasible and has it identified landscape changes? all possible costs? • Is it considered socially acceptable for local • How will the initiative ensure that it contributes people to collect and work with plastic waste to the desired environmental and within target communities? socio-economic outcomes? • Are there any health risks presented by using • Will there be sufficient plastic waste available this plastic waste material, and can these for the enterprise? be mitigated? • How will participants be incentivised to use only plastic waste and not new plastic? /Adobe Stock /Adobe whitcomberd

www.fauna-flora.org 13 Alam Alam Ramí rez /FFI

CONCLUSIONS

The Weaving for Nature initiative has taught us within these communities to collaborate to reduce that there are a number of considerations relating marine plastic pollution and enhance sea turtle to developing an enterprise reliant on plastic waste conservation, as part of a wider FFI programme of with local communities, which are essential to work in the region. Those involved have reported consider in order to establish a sustainable and wide-ranging benefits as a result of this viable enterprise (see Lessons Learned). engagement, including apparent reductions in plastic pollution on beaches and reported Nonetheless, if appropriately considered and improvements in livelihoods and well-being. managed, this type of enterprise has the potential to achieve positive environmental and socio- We hope that many of the lessons learned as a economic impacts. The Weaving for Nature result of this initiative will be applied to subsequent initiative has successfully engaged a number of projects that plan to use a similar approach in very remote, marginalised communities on the order to tackle plastic pollution. Pacific coast of Nicaragua, and empowered women www.fauna-flora.org 14 Alam Ramí Alam rez /FFI

HOW TO CITE THIS CASE STUDY Fauna & Flora International (FFI) (April 2019) Developing successful plastic waste-based enterprises: lessons learned from Nicaragua. FFI, Cambridge, UK.

The David Attenborough Building, Tel: +44 (0) 1223 571 000 Pembroke Street, Cambridge, Email: [email protected] www.fauna-flora.org Registered Charity No. 1011102 CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom

APRIL 2019