Reusable, eco-friendly bags often seen on the Isle of Wight are now being used by families some 8,000 miles away in Bali, thanks to the efforts of local business Oasis.
The gift and furniture company situated on the outskirts of Brading import products directly from Bali, which means dealing with small cottage industries and families. Over the past 20 years owners Alan and Bridget Southwell have built up friendships and understanding about the local culture.
On their last buying trip to Bali the now famous ‘diver swimming through plastic’ was released. This video has had a great impact to all that have seen it, a sentiment especially true of the people of Bali who have witnessed this first hand.
The Sekolah Taman School, situated in the Badung region, are very progressive in teaching their pupils about the importance of preventing the contamination of the planet through avoiding the over use of plastic. They place special emphasis on speaking to the children and how they and their parents can help solve this problem locally, but have often found that parents have not had the means to put this knowledge to practice.
Alan and Bridget have been very impressed with the approach of the Sekolah Taman School and as a result they have both proposed and sponsored a new initiative within the school to help solve this problem. This initiative involves the 3 to 10-year-old pupils being gifted with reusable Oasis shopping bags for both themselves and their parents to use. This gift will enable the pupils to apply what they are taught at school about environmental care and recycling into their daily lives at home, whilst at the same time encouraging their parents likewise.
The families received their reusable bags with much excitement at a special event held by the teachers at the school last month. Alan and Bridget hope that, through this gesture, the message of the over use of plastic is passed onto the local people which can make a difference.
