The UniquEco brand emerged in 2005 as Kenyans
Julie Church and Tahreni Bwaanali sought to extend the success of a
social and environmental initiative known as The FlipFlop Project. The
seeds of The FlipFlop Project were planted in 1997 when woman and young
people on the islands of the Lamu Archipelago off the northeast coast
of Kenya began collecting the flip flops washing up onto Lamu's beaches
and turning them into toys, buoys and cushion stuffing.
The
Lamu Archipelago includes four beautiful islands lying at the
confluence of two major ocean currents. The northernmost island of
Kiwayu is part of the 250 square kilometer Kiunga Marine National
Reserve, where protected mangrove stands, seagrass beds and coral reefs
support a variety of marine wildlife, including three species of sea
turtle that nest on Kiwayu's beaches. The ancient civilization of Lamu
is Kenya's oldest inhabited city, and its stone buildings, carved
wooden doors, donkey carts and friendly, colorfully dressed Swahili
locals offer tourists a relaxed vacation alternative to Zanzibar.
In all this apparent paradise, problems still exist. The confluence of
ocean currents at the tip of the Lamu Archipelago drags thousands of
flip flops washed away from beaches around the world onto the sea
turtle nesting grounds. With driftwood and flip flops littering the
beaches, female sea turtles struggle to reach nesting sites and
hatchlings, already threatened by a variety of predators that lie
between the nest site and the water's edge, often fail to reach the
safety of the ocean when faced with piles of debris.
As
marine wildlife struggle with the encroachment of human waste, local
residents of Lamu face problems of their own. With 95% of the
population dependent on the proceeds of tourism, local income dwindles
as unsightly beaches and political unrest in East Africa drive away
tourists.
The FlipFlop Project and UniquEco present a sustainable solution to all
three problems. Through the venue of recycled flip flop crafts, the
project creates fair trade jobs for locals while facilitating the
clean-up of the beaches vital to sea turtle breeding and local tourism.
As the commercial arm of the project, UniquEco's mission is, "to work
with craftsmen and women from disadvantaged areas to produce and market
products made from recycled rubbers, plastics and metals thus improving
their well-being, while ensuring that the biological, social and
cultural richness of the local people and environment is maintained or
bettered”.
UniquEco
pays Lamu women and teenagers a fair living wage to collect flip flops
from the beach. The flip flops are then delivered to Nairobi, where
UniquEco's 20 full time employees convert the flip flops into
sculptures, jewelry, key rings and other small gifts to sell in local
tourist markets and to export around the world. In 2008, UniquEco
recycled over 30,000 flip flops and brought a much-needed income to
more than 100 women in the Lamu area. The company has used its growth
to extend projects into Kibera, a Nairobi slum, and into the Samburu
populations of northern Kenya.
UniquEco continues to artfully build global awareness of conservation
efforts through media exposure and dramatic commissioned art pieces.
Twiga, a 15-foot tall flip flop giraffe sculpture, joined five 10-foot
patchwork panels created from beach debris at Rome's Fashion Week,
sponsored by Lancia, L'Oreal and and Alta Roma, as part of the
International Trade Center's Africa Inspires project. The panels are
potentially scheduled to be displayed in the U.N. Assembly in
Washington D.C.
In
cooperation with NEPAD Coastal and Marine Secretariat and the World
Society on Protection of Animals, UniquEco commissioned Kenyan scrap
metal sculptor Kioko Mutiki to create a full size Minke whale named
Mfalme from flip flops and wire mesh. Displayed at Haller Park in
Mombasa, Mfalme is visited by more than 1000 Kenyan children a week,
bringing the enormity of the need for marine conservation and
protection into scale for young eyes. The company expresses hopes that
in the near future, Mfalme will take a journey around the world to
bring global attention to whaling reform and marine habitat
preservation.
UniquEco was a 2008 finalist in the BBC World Challenge competition,
which engages the public to choose the recipient of a cash grant
awarding innovation and enterprise at the grassroots level.
UniquEco continues to develop as a socially-responsible
enterpreneurship committed to making a positive physical impact on the
health of Kenya's people, wildlife and ecosystems. The company aspires
to having a million people owning their own little part of the UniquEco
story.
UniquEco founder Julie Johnstone Church was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and
is one of the world's experts on coral fish. She has dedicated her
career to the ocean and its issues over the past 15 years.
Founder Tahreni Bwanaali was born and raised in a village on the coast
of Kenya. She is a role model to the people of the Lamu area, having
travelled, studied and worked around the world.
