Working with and for communities in beach clean-ups as well as mobilizing community members to be agents of change as well as enhancing the capacities of members in dirty dozen methodology
Young people being the heart of sustainable development must be capacitated and supported to be the best version of themselves and make the change they want to see
Amplifying the work of community members in the media has enabled build confidence and urgency among young people to be the push of beach clean-ups as well as an educational awareness campaign
Engaging community members as researchers in plastic waste management data collection has strengthened participatory development as well as cascaded knowledge pf plastics to community members
Invest in community structures and work from bottom-up approaches as well as working with community structures to mainstream sustainable plastic waste management as well as beach clean-ups
Work with brands to come up with an alternative to plastic packaging as well providing technical assistance to companies to transition.
People learn best through meaningful and fun experiences linked to evidence-based information that supports them to take action on plastic waste beach management.
Young people being the heart of sustainable development must be capacitated and supported to be the best version of themselves and make the change they want to see
Development of a mobile application to assist in beach clean-up to ensure that marine plastics have been removed from beaches in the cape of South Africa.
Pioneering the dirty dozen clean methodology to streamline monitoring and evaluation of marine plastic litter as well developing strategies in conducting beach clean-ups
Enhance the capacities of community members to be agents of change by empowering them with tools, knowledge, and resources to become change agents
A multidisciplinary approach must be employed when dealing with hardliners to ensure they are won over or facilitated to have a paradigm shift on the transition to a circular economy
Outreach and awareness are paramount to reach people with the right messages on streamlining circularity, upcycling on the development
Life systems are connected across geo-political and social boundaries. The Beach Co-op works within a global understanding of environmental and social opportunities and challenges but acts at the local and national level to address them.
Creating partnerships that scale the impact of dirty dozen work. Through partnerships, The Beach Co-op have deepened the relationship with existing partners and formed 14 new partners within the last two years
Conducting immersive workshops have helped strengthened our collaboration as well as cascaded the methodology for usage and application by other organization
Holding trash bashes, regular beach clean-ups have helped our partners own the journey of cleaning beaches as well as integrating methodological monitoring of plastic waste on beaches
Women participating in a participatory planning workshop.
High Atlas Foundation
In implementing community development projects, particularly those related to the environment, it is vital that local communities are involved as they understand their environment best. The participatory approach encourages close collaboration with civil groups. Heavily focusing on its members’ capacities to be effective managers of change, a more functional and successful solution can be adapted. Through participatory dialogues, technical trainings, and the fostering of partnerships among NGOs, business, and governments — local and national — solutions are generated that cannot be achieved by any of these entities on their own. These dialogues allow the opportunity to collectively assess needs, and identify, design, and implement initiatives.
Community ownership, as exemplified by their contribution of resources and effort, is our key measure for sustainability and acceptance. This outcome is an extension of the initial empowerment and community-planning sessions. Another highly relevant aspect is coordination and project managerial support that are provided by village-based civil associations and cooperatives. Key to project longevity is the ongoing local and institutional participation during the project’s life.
By ignoring the concerns of society in relation to the environment, we risk endangering the continuous and reliable provision of the natural resources on which economies depend. When discussing ecosystem-based approaches in the context of sustainable development, the social dimension must be considered. The production and use of natural resources, therefore, must not only take into account society's environmental priorities, but also be organized in a way that supports the social consensus that binds us together. Additionally, when facilitating community dialogues, they must be inclusive of public, private, and civil organizations, which provides information and an essential basis for sustainable decisionmaking. By fostering the inclusive dialogue quality needed for a resilient program and environment, the project will have greater impact.
