From 19 women to a coastal movement

Last year, we shared how the Mama Karangas in Kuruwitu were turning plastic pollution into opportunity.

With support from Pelorus Foundation and our partner Oceans Alive Kenya, local women restored a cottage to use as their base of operations, established a weekly savings system to help members meet costs such as school fees and medical expenses, and purchased a cart to collect and transport waste from the coast. They also develop uniforms that strengthened their identity and pride as guardians of the ocean. By the end of 2025, the initiative had grown to involve more than 100 women across neighbouring communities.

Now, that momentum is travelling further along Kenya's coastline.

Peer-to-peer learning has been at the heart of this next phase.
Experienced Mama Karangas from Kuruwitu are now sharing the skills they have developed with women in the neighbouring Kanamai landing site. Two women from the established Kuruwitu group have already delivered hands-on training to the new group.

The work has already moved from training into action. Women in Kanamai have organised their first beach clean-up, begun sorting and processing the plastic they collect, and have established a route for selling recyclable material.

Crucially, this activity is helping protect an area identified as an important turtle nesting site, linking improved livelihoods directly with the conservation of Kenya's marine environment.

The cart, cottage and savings system established in Kuruwitu helped give the Mama Karangas the practical foundations to organise their work, collect and transport more waste, support one another financially and strengthen their identity as local conservation leaders.

The latest expansion shows what can happen when that foundation is allowed to grow. Rather than creating dependence on outside support, women who have developed experience in Kuruwitu are now passing that knowledge on themselves. The result is a model increasingly shaped and spread by the communities it was designed to support.

For Pelorus Foundation, that is an important measure of success: not simply how much plastic is removed from one beach, but whether a locally led solution can continue, strengthen and inspire action elsewhere.

"What is exciting about the Mama Karangas is that women are not only protecting their own coastline, they are now sharing what they have learned so other communities can do the same."

- Justine Williams, Head of Pelorus Foundation.

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Your generous support is fundamental to the continuation and ongoing success of these inspiring initiatives. There are also opportunities to hop on board and actively get involved.

To find out more and how your donation will make a positive impact, please email support@pelorusfoundation.com.

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