Moken Guardians of the Sea: Safeguarding the Ocean from Plastics

Our project aims to reduce marine plastic pollution by collecting Ocean Bound Plastic in southern Thailand in a circular economy approach and supporting local precarious minority. Since April 2019 the Swiss Foundation Jan & Oscar has been running a plastic sorting facility with direct access to the sea in Ranong, allowing fishermen to bring and sell plastic with their long tail boats directly at our pier. We provide education for young students, a place to live, employment and income opportunities for local precarious minorities, of which are the Moken, an ethnic group of semi-nomadic fishing people who live on several islands in the Andaman Sea.

4. Quality education5. Gender Equality8. Decent Work and Economic Growth11. Sustainable Cities and Communities14. Life below Water
  • Schools of the Waste Bank program : Education and awareness of young people is one of the best ways to fight marine plastic pollution in the long term. That's why we have created an educational program that includes the construction of waste banks in schools in the region. The pilot location for this program is Khao Niwet School in Ranong. In 2019, we founded the construction of a waste bank where students can bring recyclable waste. We held workshops in schools to sensitize children about pollution and recycling. In 2021, the Waste Bank scheme is expanding to 5 schools in the Andaman Sea islands.
  • Ranong Recycle for Environment Social Enterprise : The Social Enterprise goal is to collect Ocean Bound Plastic waste and process it for our customers to recycle/upcycle it. We are working with coastal and island-based waste collectors. And we employ people from Moken and Burmese communities to process the plastic at our centre. Our business model is based on collaboration between the private sector, the civil society and the government. We only work with partners who support the strong environmental and social impact of our project. All profits generated by the social enterprise will be used to fund services for local communities.
  • Local communities : Supporting local communities is at the heart of our project. This is done in two ways: buying Ocean Bound Plastic from the local collectors living on the neighbouring islands of Ranong (islands collectors) or on the coastal mainland (land-based collectors) ; and employing workers at our waste collection center. We provide training, decent work conditions and salary, and a place to live to the workers. We provide additional income for the collectors, buying them plastic at a price higher than the market price. These groups include members of the Moken community. Their traditional way of life has been under threat for several years because of intensive fishing and plastic pollution. Most of these exceptional swimmers live under the absolute poverty line and are not registered citizens. These groups also include other socially marginalized individuals (Burmese migrants, single moms).
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Our actions

  • Run a plastic collection and sorting facility with direct access to the sea
  • Recruit and train of personnel on plastic sorting focusing on socially marginalized communities - Moken and Burmese
  • Engage local schools in our waste bank program, produce an educational kit and workshop to educate children about plastic pollution and recycling
  • Find new market and innovative solutions for upcycling ocean plastics
No. of students involved in our programmes
233
Target: 750
Period: 2020
No. of Moken people working at Ranong Recycle for Environment
Target: 8
LabelValue
20205.00 (12 of 22 responses)
20214.00 (10 of 22 responses)
% of women working at Ranong Recycle for Environment
72.1
Period: 2021
No. of people working at Ranong Recycle for Environment
Target: 15
LabelValue
202016.00 (12 of 22 responses)
202113.00 (10 of 22 responses)
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Our outcomes

  • New income opportunities created for minorities (Moken fishermen) and socially marginalized individuals by collecting and sorting plastics
  • Increased visibility of our project at the local, national and international level
No. of islands on which plastic was collected since January 2020
Target: 6
LabelValue
20205.00 (12 of 22 responses)
20217.00 (10 of 22 responses)
No. of island-based groups of waste collectors involved in the project
Target: 10
LabelValue
20208.00 (12 of 22 responses)
202119.00 (10 of 22 responses)
Total amount of Ocean Bound plastic collected since January 2020 (in kg)
Target: 130000
LabelValue
2020135254.00 (12 of 22 responses)
202189995.00 (10 of 22 responses)
No. of waste collectors involved in the project
Target: 40
LabelValue
202022.10 (12 of 22 responses)
202157.80 (10 of 22 responses)
Workers declaring they feel trained to recognize different types of plastics since being involved with the project
Target: 80% totally agree
2020
2021
No. of 100kg bales of plastic produced and stored in the centre since January 2020
Target: 1200
LabelValue
20201044.00 (12 of 22 responses)
2021588.00 (10 of 22 responses)
No. of followers on the Facebook page
Target: 5000
LabelValue
20202001.00 (12 of 22 responses)
20212228.00 (10 of 22 responses)
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Our impacts

  • Reduced plastic leakage into the ocean for cleaner environment and less environmental issues
  • Creation of a circular economy network: Ocean Bound Plastic recycled by our partner to decrease dependency on virgin materials
Workers declaring they are more aware of the plastic pollution of the environment since being involved with the project.
Target: 80% totally agree or slightly agree
2020
2021
No. of students stating they have changed their behavior regarding waste sorting and recycling
254
Target: 400
Period: 2020
Kg of PET plastic bottles recycled through the facility since January 2020
Target: 100000
LabelValue
202078574.00 (12 of 22 responses)
202134913.00 (10 of 22 responses)

Who we are

Looking for : 1

Second-hand forklift to carry the plastic bales from the warehouse to the truck

Looking for : 1

Second-hand pickup truck

Looking for : 2

Volunteers to help at the recycling center in Ranong, south of Thailand (minimum stay of 2 months)

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