Community and wildlife-based initiatives

In Cape Town and throughout South Africa, there are unfortunately many run-down areas and at-risk communities. Two of our pre-departure team members who are based in Cape Town were particularly interested in how they could work with one of their local communities to make a difference. A small art project caught their eye; this focused on beautifying a building within a township. Art has proven to have an empowering effect in these townships, as a painted mural can be uplifting for the residents but also serve as a tourist attraction, generating income and fostering better communication between different groups of people.

Our team was excited to get involved in creating our own mural, something that was both educational and inspiring to the community. We settled on an ocean-themed painting, as the ocean connects us all and belongs to us all, and therefore it is everyone’s responsibility to protect it. Our pre-departure team all contributed ideas that were incorporated into the final design. We worked with an incredible local artist called Ayo, who helped the team convert those ideas and designs into an image that would work on the wall.

We then worked with a local organisation that coordinates many art projects of this nature across several townships in Cape Town to select a suitable location. With their help, we presented our designs to an individual homeowner to ensure they were involved with the process and happy with the proposed design.

All that was left to do was to paint – with the help of our local artist, of course.

In total, we had 10 volunteers from across the Travelopia brands working on the project, which turned into a fun team-building experience as well as an amazing opportunity to work within the community. We had a team of around 20 local ladies with us across the week and were incredibly proud of the end results. May our ocean mural continue to put a smile on everyone’s face who passes by.

Over the last 8 years, we have been supporting this fantastic organisation, providing them with access to our yachts to conduct research, replant corals as needed, and simply observe the corals at night. August is what is known as the spawning season and is crucial to ensuring the creation of new coral. The team will often take a yacht and conduct night dives to observe this.

In recent years, stony coral tissue disease has started to impact the reefs in Belize; therefore, the education of anyone visiting the reefs has become vital. This is a water-borne disease that spreads through contact; therefore, it is essential that guests understand what to look out for and take the correct precautions to ensure it doesn’t spread. All our advice is shared with our customers upon arrival at our Belize base through the educational literature provided by Fragments of Hope.

Placencia Sailing Club

Established in 2012, the Placencia Sailing Club works with the youth within their local communities to engage them in sailing, providing the training to allow individuals to develop the skills required to be a sailor.

When Placencia Sailing Club was first established, we donated an optimist dinghy to the organisation and have been supporting them ever since. Annually, we provide them with a committee yacht for officials during their competitions and support them in delivering equipment to other parts of Belize. We have helped fundraise to purchase new equipment for the club, including a Lazer dinghy. This is vital to ensuring children continue to be able to sail as they grow. Both the Optimist and Lazer dinghies the club uses are Olympic boats; therefore, this training provides children with multiple options for adulthood in a country with limited opportunities. Many of the children who start sailing with Placencia aspire to become skippers of larger yachts like ours.

Poor and Famous

Unfortunately, some areas of Belize have challenges with crime, gangs, and violence; therefore, it is essential that children have initiatives that will take them away from the city and engage them in different activities. An organisation that is based in Belize City is Poor and Famous, focuses on engaging young boys in football.

We are supporters of the initiative and donate regularly to ensure the organisation has the equipment and uniforms they need to train and play in competitions.

Kosamare      

The Kefalonia Organisation for the Study and Awareness of the Marine Environment (Kosamare) was established as a social cooperative enterprise in 2018. They are a team of professional divers and biologists with a range of technical skills and experience and therefore have a unique ability to access and study the undersea environment. 

Their mission is to study, raise awareness, and protect the local marine ecosystem and endangered marine species. Some of their aims below: 

• Carry out research and conservation projects related to the local marine environment, endangered and invasive species. 
• Engage and inform the public by working with tourists, the population and local schools.  
• Provide technical and logistical support to institutions working in the study and protection of marine species in the area. 
• Their flagship project is the monitoring of the Mediterranean monk seal, a programme that allows a study of the local subpopulation. They intend this data to inform protective measures such as marine reserves that are supported through community engagement and run several programmes in collaboration with local, national, and international organisations. 

Kosamare offers educational talks to our Sunsail flotilla guests to increase awareness of initiatives and ways our customers can support them. 

Learn more Kosamare here.  

Greek Tourism Board  

Sunsail remains in discussion with the Greek Tourism Board around sustainability initiatives and how to move forward in this space via the use of government grants.  

As one of the initial steps, Sunsail is proud to have attended as a panellist for a showcase on ‘Sustainable Sailing in Greece’ held in December, 2023. The Greek National Tourism Organisation hosted a discussion with sailing companies to look at the increasing efforts to ensure the protection of the marine environment. The Sustainable Sailing in Greece initiative is powered by the Ioanian Environmental Foundation. 

We are proud to already have various initiatives in place through Our OCEAN Promise, and we look forward to building on these, as well as supporting what we can achieve as a collective in Greece, by continuing to focus on current and future efforts to make sailing in the amazing waters of Greece more sustainable. 

Learn more on Sustainable Sailing in Greece here.