Grindrod Bank has created the all-female Blue Crew via The Blue Fund as one of its CSI initiatives. Using the Wildlands ‘Wastepreneur’ model, the aim of The Blue Crew is to create sustainable livelihoods, while simultaneously cleaning up some of Durban’s coastal waterways.
The Blue Crew has been structured into two small businesses, headed up by two strong leaders from the Cato Manor community.
Each of these team leaders has a crew of women working with them to carry out clean-ups of all recyclable material washed into the Durban Harbour or onto Durban’s beaches. The Blue Fund, through Wildlands’ recycling programme, pays by weight for the recyclable material, creating a sustainable model for the Blue Crew to grow and search for new areas to clean.
As part of the sustainable goals of the project, Wildlands has carried out business training with the team leaders to ensure a complete understanding of the model, thus improving their ability to generate revenue in the most efficient manner.
In time, the Blue Crew hopes to expand its area of operation, thus improving their livelihoods, while at the same time assisting the KZN community to maintain clean and healthy beaches.
The Blue Fund also aims to create awareness around this project, highlighting the waste that reaches our oceans.
Through this awareness, we hope to change the public’s behaviour, thus encouraging individuals to recycle at source.