We would love to shine a light on one of our International AMDI Partners – Ekipa Tasi Mos Atauro. In 2016, Ekipa Tasi Mos was founded when a group of volunteers and staff from Barry’s Eco Lodge and Blue Ventures established regular beach clean-ups in Atauro, Timor Leste.
Their mission is:
- To remove debris from their local marine environment and record their findings in the AMDI Database.
- To assist the community in reducing single-use plastics.
- To build a community recycling plant.
- To enhance the locally managed marine areas.
They have made wonderful progress in these areas, with their latest efforts aimed at raising funds to install recycling machines in their community recycling plant named, “Green House.”
The major problem items in Atauro are plastic lids, fragments, packaging, bottles, and cups. A recent clean-up with twenty-five volunteers, over a 400 metre stretch of beach yielded almost 1,500 plastic cups! Ekipa Tasi Mos Atauro is a wonderful example of how a small group of people can influence an entire island community.
