<
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/sep/12/colombia-environment-amigos-del-mar-tierra-bomba-cartagena-plastic-waste-value-water-sports-school-children-surfing>
"As the morning sun beats down on the Caribbean island of Tierra Bomba in
Colombia, a group of schoolchildren heads towards the beach, with two carrying
surfboards over their heads. The children, many of whom are barefoot, meander
through the town, also called Tierra Bomba, down unkempt and littered dirt
roads, past colourful tin-roofed homes and makeshift clotheslines.
As they near the beach, the spartan concrete houses give way to palm-thatched
bungalows with swimming pools overlooking the sea, flanked by colourful
flowers. Playa Linda’s sands are dotted with bars, parasols and loungers, the
waters crisscrossed by darting jetskis.
The children excitedly bicker over the pair of surfboards as they begin their
weekly lesson. One attempts to use a floating tree trunk as a makeshift board.
The surfing lessons are organised by the Amigos del Mar foundation, a local
group that provides social support and teaches water sports to the community
while also tackling one of the island’s biggest problems: rubbish.
In Tierra Bomba, plastic bottle caps, bags, wrappers, toys and other plastic
waste constantly washes up on the white sand beaches, where it accumulates due
to the lack of adequate waste collection services.
Amigos del Mar has set up the Olas Paz programme (known as the Clean Wave
Project in English), transforming the thousands of plastic bottle caps that
pollute Tierra Bomba into surfboard fins.
Last year, the organisation collected more than 7,000 bottle caps through beach
cleaning programmes and by encouraging the local community to collect the caps
themselves. Each surf fin comprises about 18 bottle caps, ground into tiny
pieces, then melted and moulded into shape.
“The idea was that the people from Tierra Bomba, who had never picked up
rubbish or recycled before, would start down this path,” says Pedro Salazar,
director and founder of Amigos del Mar. “It is difficult in communities with
other problems to talk about environmental education and try to change their
minds on environmental issues.”
The allure of surfing, however, helps. For the children to participate in the
weekly lesson, they must attend all their school classes – which include
learning about the environment – throughout the week, an initiative introduced
to bolster local education.
Juan José Silva, the children’s surfing instructor and himself a former student
of the foundation, says: “Surf helps a lot as there are people here that have
gotten lost down bad paths for not having something to distract them.
“In surfing, one can find peace, happiness and a little bit of everything,” he
says. “It’s a way of having a good time.”"
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
