Poof!
At Ocean Sole, we pride ourselves in recycling 100% percent of the Flip flops we collect.
During the making of our sculptures, there are usually pieces of flip flops bits that remain which we call offcuts. The question we get asked a lot by people who learn about our mission is: “What do we do with the offcuts?”
Ocean Sole flip flops off cuts
Today, for a little behind-the-scenes action, we are going to take you along on a step-by-step process of how we utilize the offcuts for a special project we are doing with Borana Conservancy.
Borana Conservancy is a non-profit organization here in Kenya dedicated to the conservation of critical habitat and wildlife. They also have an existing education program that works closely with local communities to inspire and uplift the lives of children within these communities.
In the spirit of supporting what they do, they engaged us in the making of 30 poofs for their education program.
We love doing projects that impact positively on the community so this is something we jumped on right away! We had a team of five passionate ladies who worked on this project, namely;
- Ann Nzilani
- Esther Mutheu
- Lucy Vusha
- Colleta Awino
- Constance Zabibu
Let’s get to work!
1. We start by shredding these offcuts by using a shredding machine.
shredding machine
2. After the shredding process, the bits are washed, disinfected, and placed in the sun to completely dry for a few days.
3. Once the bits are fully dry, they are ready to be utilized! The project started with Ann sewing the mesh for stuffing in the shredded offcuts.
Ann sewing the mesh
4. Next, the ladies filled the mesh with the shredded material. After which, they sewed the mesh all around again.
*It may seem easy but it’s quite a tedious process which requires patience!
ladies filling up the mesh bags with the washed flip flop bits
5. After this process is done, they make sure that it is all round and someone can actually sit on comfortably!
Thank you so much to the Borana Conservancy for partnering with us for this project.
Project Conservation Stats:
- 420 kgs (926 lbs) of shredded recycled flip flops were used
- 210 hours of working hours created
- 4 amazing women in production, Ann Nzilani as team leader
We are proud of the work that Borana Conservancy is doing to help local communities. We were so excited to work on this project and we hope to do more with them in the future.
6. Finally, the poofs were done and ready to go!
poofs on their way to their new home, ready to be shipped!
Email hello@oceansoleafrica.com for custom projects, creative ideas, or just to see how to stay connected & get involved with our mission!
When we work together to fix a common problem, we can all make a lasting & direct impact!
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Written by: Maureen Simba
