The iconic Soneva Fushi by Six Senses recently partnered with Sports and Environmental Efforts of Kendhoo (SEEK) – a Maldivian based NGO located in Kendhoo, Baa Atoll, to launch an atoll-wide campaign that educates locals to use cloth bags as an alternative to plastic shopping bags.
Waste management is a key environmental concern in the Maldives. The campaign is designed to teach locals about the detrimental effects plastic bags have on the surrounding eco-system, and to empower the communities to take responsibility and actively be a part of solving the issue.
Throughout the campaign, Soneva Fushi will donate around 3,000 reusable natural cotton bags to households in the region and will support SEEK to lead an atoll-wide initiative that brings together key stakeholders and other environmental groups in the Baa Atoll to promote these reusable cloth bags. Shop owners are phasing out free plastic bags and promoting the use of eco-friendly bags as an alternative.
The campaign will cover 13 islands in the Baa Atoll, an estimated 300 households and nearly 12,000 individuals by the end of 2009. Campaign leaders hope to reach out to more regions in the country and ultimately run a nationwide campaign in 2010. The ‘eco-friendly bag’ project is also carried out in support of the nationwide, ‘Nala Nala Rajje’, government’s waste management awareness campaign.
As part of Six Senses’ group-wide Social Environmental Responsibility Fund (SERF), Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili recognise the importance of promoting environmental awareness in local communities. Since its inception, Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili have actively contributed to social and environmental initiatives in surrounding communities and elsewhere in the Maldives and abroad.
