Diani – A celebration of what makes our culture so unique

Diani is the home of our project leader Dipesh, and this cause for celebration was reflected in the most vibrant arrival - with drummers, dancers and hundreds of schoolchildren welcoming us onto the sublime Diani beach. The Diani event represented all that is distinct and beautiful about our Kenyan culture and values: all activities were infused with creativity and music: exhibits from local school children demonstrated how art and precious things can be created from trash; and the extraordinary acrobats and drummers ensured the whole day was a celebration of all that can be achieved when communities unite against plastic pollution.

Diani marked another Flipflopi first with the appointment of ever goodwill brand ambassador of the Fllipflopi project – the uber-talented Kenyan artist, Muthoni Drummer Queen – who has pledged her commitment and support to catalysing the plastic revolution and sharing the message that single-use plastic does not make any sense. Speaking at the Diani event, Muthoni said: “We’re at the beginning of reshaping the conversation…We have to think about how we legislate and enforce and change our use of plastic – but, at the same time, now that it’s here we must think of how we can re-use it for something positive”

Amid the celebration, the real message of the campaign was delivered with local innovators Kwale Plastic Plus Collectors, showing how proper waste management – segregation and collection of different types of waste – should be done by local communities and businesses to help keep the environment pollution free.

Diani highlighted once again the benevolence of our local partners on this expedition – with particular thanks to the ‘Sands at Nomad’ for seamless event organisation and commitment to the project.

Diani in numbers

 ~1000 attendees

 50 Acrobats

 6 drummers

 5 recycling workshops on Precious Plastic

 1 st goodwill ambassador - Muthoni Drummer queen

 35km sailed between Mombasa and Diani

Shimoni: Education Education Education

From Diani we sailed 42km to Shimoni, our final stop in Kenya before crossing the border. As with every Kenyan community we visited, Shimoni had its own distinct and vibrant character. Shimoni is a historical community – a small archipelago protected by mangroves and coral reefs that depends heavily on local industry and fishing.

We were met at the jetty by literally hundreds of primary and secondary school children from 5 different schools in the area – and that marked the start of a 4 hour round-robin of workshops, plastic pollution lessons ‘Flipflopi style’ and boat tours – by the end of the day, we were exhausted but energised, and hopeful that a new generation of schoolchildren had taken away the message that already used plastic can be turned into something valuable.

Shimoni in numbers

700 school children from 5 different schools

15 Flipflopi boat tours and lessons

4 recycling workshops

3 key local partners – Kenyan Wildlife Service, Reefolution, Pilli Pipa

3 Diani kite-surfers accompanied us from Diani to Shimoni