Weaving for Nature

| LEARNING REPORT Alam Ramí rez /FFI FAUNA & FLORA INTERNATIONAL’ S Weaving for Nature 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 biodiversity, altering ecosystems and adversely in Nicaragua aimed at improving affecting human health. With research into ocean protection of nesting sea 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 oceans 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 Martinez - 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 Caribbean Sea 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 time 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 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 times 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 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 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

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