Pollution of the oceans is a problem all over the world. Cape Verde is no exception. Waste includes a lot of plastic which cannot biodegrade including bottles, fishing nets and food containers.
In Cape Verde two enterprising ladies in Mindelo (on São Vicente) decided to address this issue. Helena Moscoso and Debora Roberto founded a company called Simili. In 2019 they started to use the plastic nets collected from the beaches to create products for sale. They use the colourful fishing nets to produce attractive bags and bracelets. This has the benefit of highlighting the problem of ocean pollution as well as helping to keep beaches clean and re-using debris that would otherwise be put into landfill or burnt.
[25 Nov 2022]
