Tejiendo por la Naturaleza
Responsible Innovation Projects
The ‘Iniciativa Tejiendo por la Naturaleza’ began in September 2007 after a meeting with Fauna and Flora International which highlighted the increased deaths of Seaturtles due to plastic pollution. Specifically from asphyxia caused by plastics bags, which the turtles eat, confusing them for one of their principal sources of food, thejellyfish. Since the community of El Astillero, Nicaragua, is so close to ChacocenteWildlife Reserve, one of the most important sea turtle nesting sites on the Pacificseaboard, the death of sea turtles has a huge impact. The project “Tejiendo por laNaturaleza” is driven by the desire to raise awareness about the need to protect the turtle population, upcycle plastic bags in order to remove them from the waste stream,and to create products which are useful and provide economic benefits to women inthe town of El Astillero.We had the idea to collect the plastic bags from the beach and markets in Jinotepe, Rivas and San Juan del Sud, clean them, and use them as yarns for knitting products. When we first began in 2007, as a group of 10 women, we only had 5 types ofproducts, and since then we have developed this civic initiative, to include over 20women, with whom we have been continuously developing new products, improving our knitting techniques and elaborating our designs. For reference, one large bag cantake up to a week to knit and uses over 500 plastic bags. Recently, as tourism has diminished due to the CoronaVirus Pandemic, we have been working closely withCasa Congo, a local NGO focused on Conservation and Ecological Restoration, to create products that have wider appeal and access the international up-marketproducts such as carpets (1,500 plastic bags) and table mats (100 bags). We hope to establish an online marketplace that can improve our logistical ability to providebetter and more seamless connection to national and international markets.