I came to Asia three years ago. In the first few minutes spent on the streets of Kuta in Bali, it was impossible not to notice the trash everywhere. I wanted to cry because traveling around Europe I have never encountered so much waste. From the very beginning I wanted to collect all this rubbish, but it is an impossible task for one person! When I reached my destination – Gili Trawangan – the problem of rubbish seemed to dissipate. However, the problem was not smaller in any way, but rather it was tackled through an organization created locally that help to alleviate the problem. This tiny island, located southwest off the island of Lombok, lives off tourism. Divers from around the world come here to dive with turtles and sharks, and backpackers come in droves to party and spend wonderful moments on the sandy beaches around the island. Unfortunately, the more people visit this place, the mountain of trash automatically increases. Gili Eco Trust is an organization that constantly fights waste, but also supports clinics for the island’s cats and horses. Motor vehicle traffic is prohibited here, so I happily ride a bike to work 🙂 but this means that horses have become the main workers in transporting resources, pulling heavy construction materials, and even taxis.

There are many such organizations in Indonesia, similar to Gili Eco Trust. They also support education about the plastic problem and garbage in the world, and how to solve this problem. But I will delve deeper into Gili Eco Trust another time. Today I will tell you something else: Ocean Mimic

Ocean Mimic is an organization founded in Bali by Emma and Chelsea. The girls created a collection of swimwear for surfing and diving, using materials made of melted plastic found on the beaches of Bali. All outfits are inspired by sea animals such as killer whales, whale sharks, and colourful sea coral.

But this is just one of the ideas they have implemented. The organization deals with the education of kids, as well as the collection of garbage around Bali. Plenty of volunteers come to cleanup activities organized by Ocean Mimic. You can read more about them here: https://ocean-mimic.com/

The girls needed photos to promote this collection, so of course I agreed to take the pictures. Because Karola takes photos 🙂 Ha! Mornings at Gili Trawangan are beautiful, so we did the session at sunrise on one of the beaches. Mega fun and by the way, we promote this wonderful movement which is Ocean Mimic.

In the pictures: Laura Kazimierska (@laura_kazi, Instructor), Leesa Scanlan (@a_girl_and_the_ocean, Instructor) and Dani Zita (@_danizita, Divemaster)