Abandoned slippers, she made a stunning world of handicrafts, and also saved the ocean!
In the southeastern part of Kenya, Africa, one of the largest ports in East Africa, Mombasa, is a logistics trading base that plays an important role in Africa. It is also a resort, with pure white sandy beaches and azure waters that attract visitors from all over the world.
But the beach, which should have been delicate and soft, runs on all kinds of disgusting rubbish. Among them, rubber slippers(disposable slippers manufacturer) are the second largest in the marine environment and the most difficult source for recycling. In addition to the locally produced waste plastic slippers, there are also many plastic slippers from other countries.
In 1999, Julie was inspired by local children's toys made from used slippers. She began to encourage local mothers to recycle used slippers, wash them, polish them, and then process them into toys and crafts.
On Christmas Day 2000, two mothers brought their slippers crafts to the market in Nairobi, Kenya. These handicrafts were very popular. In addition, they received their first commercial order – 15,000 turtles from the Swiss Nature Foundation.
In order to continue to expand this process, in 2005, Julie established the Kenya Marine Conservation Organization - Ocean Sole. Committed to beach environmental protection, it also provides jobs and stable income for local low-income people.
Not only does saving the oceans drive employment, but how do discarded plastic slippers become such beautiful crafts? First, local women and children collect plastic waste from the seas of Japan, Indonesia, and China on the beach. Then, after cleaning, cutting, grinding, processing, acceptance, and many other steps, these discarded slippers can become a compelling piece of art.
Africa is a kingdom of wild animals, and Ocean Sole produces a variety of large and small, colorful works on the theme of African-specific animals. From jewelry, small ornaments, mobile phone chains to children's toys, interiors, Ocean Sole has everything you can create.
Francis Mutua has been a carpenter for many years, but today he is also cleaning up the coastline of his country when he makes abandoned slippers into whimsical animal sculptures. Despite the low level of education, he continues to polish his skills with his love for nature, and his final work is art.
In 2014, Ocean Sole brought Mutua and several other carpenters to Washington, DC, to participate in the annual Smithsonian Folk Festival to showcase their craft. When he showed his work, Mutua said that Ocean Sole changed his life and his country in ways he did not expect. Since 2005, Ocean Sole has collected more than 1,000 tons of slippers that have been abandoned on the beach and used more than 10% of its revenue for marine protection. While protecting the marine environment, Ocean Sole also promoted the employment of local people. Once the flip-flops (women flip flop manufacturer)were collected from the beach, women would remove the beads from the flip-flops and then string the beads for sale to Ocean Sole. Many young men used to fish mangroves, but this would exacerbate the depletion of mangroves and coral reefs. Now that Ocean Sole provides them with a stable job, they can create more value and maintain a family's life with their talents. To date, Ocean Sole has provided stable income to more than 150 low-income Kenyans. Driven by Julie, the used slippers became a bond that connects the ocean to the locals, and the slippers, art, life, and ocean formally form a whole. In Julie's words, “The project is seen as a way to promote a lifestyle change, and it is hoped that through training and education, people will be affected to a greater extent.”
Dirty slippers that were once scared, once again revived, and even became a popular photo attraction! Today, these brightly-colored striped elephants, flame rhinoceros or rainbow-spotted giraffes on the beaches of Kenya have become the most eye-catching scenery on the East African coast, and their work has gone global.
In recent years, Ocean Sole's work has entered many cities around the world, and their works have been exhibited in London, New York, and Amsterdam. In 2006, they created a full-size minke whale for the Mombasa Environmental Day. In 2008, an 18-foot giraffe was shipped to Rome for display during Fashion Week. In 2010, in recognition of Ocean Sole's contribution to environmental protection, Ocean Sole won the Kenya National Energy Award. When the Roman Catholic Pope Francis visited the UNEP headquarters in 2015, one of the gifts he received was an elephant made by Ocean Sole with recycled slippers.
Today, Ocean Sole's handicrafts are becoming more and more famous, and even many American schools or individuals buy them. When asked if their products would enter the Chinese market, Ocean Sole said, "One of the most important ideas in Chinese philosophy is to live in harmony with nature. This is consistent with our philosophy. I hope that one day our products will enter. China."
Undoubtedly, Ocean Sole has made great achievements in the road of protecting the marine environment, but marine environmental pollution is an important issue facing the world. How to make the sea re-blue, this road still has a long way to go, I hope more and more people are awe in nature and take effective actions.
Therefore, to take care of the environment, start from a small, start with a pair of slippers, start from the sandals manufacturers.