Help Protect Endangered Sea Turtles in Curacao

One of the activities STCC undertakes to generate income is selling merchandise items made from marine debris/ recycles plastic. Volunteers clean marine debris from the beach during the monitoring checks and the reusable plastic is brought to our partner LIMPI. They transform the plastic into new high quality items.

The first product that we developed was the ‘Turtle Buddy’. A small plastic sculpture on a driftwood stand. We started with 10, which we sold in a day. Then we ordered 20, which we sold in a week. All the money we earned with the sales were reinvested in the production of more buddy’s. Now they are sold in 10 different shops.

We received feedback from the shops, that although lots of people liked the idea, not all of them actually bought a ‘Turtle Buddy’ because it takes up a lot of space in the suitcase. That is why we experimented with the ‘Hanging Buddy’ in 2 different sizes.

We started in the same way, by only creating a few. But unfortunately they didn’t sell at all. The reason for this item to fail was that the customers didn’t feel they got enough value for money. It wasn’t possible to make them a lot cheaper than the original turtle buddy.  After the first batch was unsuccessful we stopped with the production.

We still had the feedback that people wanted to contribute by buying something small and that is why the keychains were created. A small very well designed plastic turtle that can be offered for a relatively low price.

We started with selling recycle plastic merchandise items in August and we have sold over 1500 items so far. It helps STCC to create awareness, it generates some additional funding and also it helps to create a solution for the marine debris problem on our nesting beaches. WIN – WIN – WIN

In the near future we will expand the number of items and we will also sell the products at additional retailers, so we can make an even bigger impact and also work to a more stable financial situation for STCC.

Thanks to the "Present your startup" workshop in which Sea Turtle Conservation Curacao participated May 7, 8 and 9 we now have a 3 minute pitch to interest potential investors. With this pitch, STCC won the 'Public Choice Award 2018' and 1 of the 5 Jury prizes which guarentees a spot in the Caribbean finals in August. 

The speach goes as follows:

How much is a clean and healthy ocean worth to you? We believe a clean ocean is priceless. But the sad reality is oceans are filling up with plastic and toxins and if nothing changes there will be more plastic in the sea then fish by 2050.

My name is Sabine Berendse and I’m the founder of Sea Turtle Conservation Curacao. We protects endangered sea turtles and their habitat. So even if you don’t like turtles, my message is important to you, because the ocean affects you! We have a resilient team. 2 staff members, 30 core volunteers and amazing partners and supporters

Our NGO has 3 pilars:  RESEARCH, CONSERVATION and EDUCATION. 

Since the start we saved over 1000ends of turtles. We cleaned beaches that were previously covered with marine debris. We created a music video, published an online book, plached signage at turtle hotspots and organized an exposition. We organise turtle experiences upon request and we have a followerbase of 28K+

In total our activities reached well over 150.000 people. 

Since august we have been selling merchandise items made from marine debris. So far we sold 1500 items with a value of 36K ANG. There is still a huge growth potential since we are not jet offering our prodects to cruise tourists and at hotels. And so far we only have been making turtle related products.

Without any marketing we were able to do 200 turtle experiences. With our expertise and followerbase there is a huge potential market these touristic products. Especially if we would partner with existing tour companies. Also our current logistics is highly suitable for scientific and educational tourism. That would not only generate income, but will also give us additional hands.

 We already offer different adoption programs. This year we aim to get 30 nests and 30 turtles adopted. We are also looking for strategic partners. These partners would ideally be willing to make a 3 year commitment to support us with either money or services in exchange for good exposure. Maybe you are our future partner or maybe you can introduce me to someone that might see us as an interesting partner.

 Futhermore I would love to get at least 5 sea turtle nests adopted  tonight!- $600 dollars a nest – which helps protect 100 baby turtles.

 Together we can make a change. So I’m hoping you will support our cause.

THANK YOU

6 nests were adopted and some promising contacts were made. The "present your startup workshop" was extremely valuable and gave us a different perspective on STCC. Although we have been identifying ourselves as an NGO, it seems we are making a shift to become a social enterprize. This seems to be a good business model to make STCC sustainable. 

Links:

• The Action and Monitoring report for 2017 is now available