![]()
How it all began...
The Flipflopi Project was started by Ben, Dipesh and Ali Skanda.
Ben and Dipesh are based in Kenya and the UK and their daytime jobs are in travel businesses that organize vacations to Africa for people from the US, UK and rest of the world. It was on a visit to Zanzibar that Ben saw the alarming amount of plastic - flipflops in particular - lining the beach, and as a direct response to that experience Ben, Dipesh and Ali started the Flipflopi project.
There is clearly a huge lag between the scale of the ocean plastic problem and the level of awareness about it among everyday consumers in Africa and the developing world countries that surround the Indian Ocean. The FlipFlopi Project is committed to changing that.
![]()
An international problem
The 33 tonnes of plastic we found on our beach clean up in Lamu came from Thailand, Malaysia, India, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia – and of course Kenya and its neighbors. Similarly much of the plastic in the oceans around the United States and European countries will also have originated elsewhere. So addressing the ocean plastic through campaigning and education locally and regionally where the impacts are greatest, will not create lasting change. To do that requires a global story… a global PlasticRevolution.
Sir David Attenborough, Sylvia Earle, Markus Eriksen and others have done so much to highlight the solutions to plastic pollution. You’ve probably heard of these giants of marine conservation – we want to take their messages to audiences who haven’t. People that don’t speak or read English, that don’t own a television, who may never have seen the sea.
And with its simple messaging built around recycling the universally recognizable flipflop – an item of footwear worn by 3 billion people – The Flipflopi has the potential to do this.
![]()
Who we really are
Everything we have achieved so far is largely the result of volunteers lending their time and expertise to fulfil the projects goals. Ali Skanda in Lamu has led the boat building, Nathalie Houben has supported us in Lamu, Shyam Radia in Nairobi, Leonard Schurg our Engineer, Benson Gitari and Sam Ngaruiya have provided the recycling and engineering know-how – whilst Dipesh Pabari has been invaluable in leveraging the project to spread the ‘world without single-use plastic’ message far and wide – we’ve been covered by media organisations from the Ukraine to the UK, and the US to Brazil.
![]()
The final key ingredient has been the support of some wise heads in the form of our advisory board… Ali Kaka, John Blashford-Snell, Miruka, John Sibi-Okumu and Julie Church – have all helped us avoid some obvious banana skins, and capitalise on the opportunity.
Supporters
Without some vocal supporters we’d not have been able to get the prototype to this point – big thanks are due to Kenya’s former Environment Minister Judi Wakhungu, all the Kenyan celebrities who took part in our talking heads film – and especially to friends who have so enthusiastically supported us via ad hoc donations in either time, money, or ideas.
![]()
What we need & what you get...
We need to raise US$250,000. This will pay for the costs of collecting rubbish along miles and miles of beach line and converting it into materials that can be remolded into a giant boat, strong enough to withstand the heaving waves of the Indian Ocean on its epic journey south.
Donations of no more than $10, $20 or $50.
We want at least 10,000 supporters for this, so we are limiting the amount you can invest to $10, $20 or $50 per person. So aside from a small donation the most valuable thing you can do is get as many other people as possible to join you in the #plasticrevolution.
![]()
What you get…
Lets face it.. we all have too much ‘stuff’ we don’t really need. Formerly the preserve of just a few privileged societies, mass consumption is now a global habit, and it is obviously the underlying cause of the ocean plastic crisis. So we’re not going to send you anything.
It’s surprising this hasn’t been done before...
Given how inexpensive, durable and widely abundant plastic waste is, it's surprising that it hasn't been done before. Plastic comes in seven commonly found types which are rarely sorted in the waste streams - the expense in 'sorting' it has probably put people off...until now that is.
![]()
Beach clean-ups organized with schools, tourism businesses, conservation organizations & community groups are collecting flip-flops all along the Kenyan coast. This, combined with the considerable media coverage we’ve received globally, is having immediate results in changing local attitudes to plastic. The potential for communities directly affected by plastic pollution cannot be underestimated and this will be a symbol of change and innovation for years to come. We now want to replicate this recipe all the way down the coast of Africa.
![]()
Here is what we will achieve...
Waste plastics will be used to construct the entire boat: the keel, ribs and structural elements from 60 tonnes of recycled plastic products including bottles and (approximately 5 million) bags, and the hull and decking will be covered completely by 200,000 washed up flip-flops. Despite the unusual materials, the vessel is being constructed by local craftsmen using traditional methods. This means no power tools and no computers… just centuries old knowledge.
![]()
We are turning trash into treasure - and in so doing, creating a powerful story for a global audience - to reduce, reuse and recycle. Many communities who live along the African coast have very little idea of the long term effects of pollution, and again, this project will make a start on changing attitudes.
![]()
Its not all talk…to prove that recycled plastic really is as strong as we say – we’re going to sail the sail the Flipflopi all the way to Cape Town in South Africa. A journey of 5,250 kilometers through some of the toughest sailing on earth – this expedition will be a world first for a sailing boat like ours, and will demonstrate to the world that recycled materials really are strong, reliable and valuable.
In detail..
The journey will take between 3 and 4 months passing along the coasts of Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa, where we will stop at towns and villages to spread the plasticrevolution message. There will be openings for crew to join the expedition for 2 week stints – recruiting will open on our website once the boat is nearing completion – until then you can register for interest here.![]()
Our biggest challenges will be the wind and the increasingly rough sea as we head south. Traditionally lateen rigged vessels only ventured as far south as Beira (halfway down the coast of Mozambique) – because at this point the direction of the prevailing winds change. The following 3,000kms will be incredibly challenging sailing, culminating in a rounding of the treacherous Cape of Good Hope at the southern point of Africa, and arriving shortly thereafter into Cape Town. Nevertheless, with some of the best sailors in the world on our decks and back up from an expert support team, we have every belief we can make this mission a success.
Its all about spreading the word.
If you can’t donate, you can still help by sharing The Flipflopi and its message with friends and family. $10, $20 or $50 dollars from 5 or 10 friends will go an enormous way towards getting our boat afloat so that it can spread the #PlasticRevolution message further around the world.
By 2050, there will reportedly be as much plastic in the sea as there are fish - unless we all do something about it right now. Come with us and join the #PlasticRevolution.
![]()
