DE UNO EN UNO Salvaremos el Mundo!

Throughout the planet, women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change. Living under the most vulnerable conditions; we know that what affects their environment directly affects their lives. Though women of color are the most affected by these changes, they are often the least represented in climate justice advocacy. As quoted in an article written by Kaitlyn Hodge in The Daily Californian, “As those most impacted by climate injustices — people of color, marginalized genders and people from low-income communities — who are also advocating for climate justice are seemingly eclipsed by the attention we pay to activists who have more privilege than others.” At The Mariposa Center for Girls, we are changing this paradigm by putting girls of color at the forefront of environmental change that affects our community directly. Our environmental laser focused programs are mobilizing a community and a generation of girls to take action.

PHOTO JIANCA LAZARUS

The Mariposa Center for Girls has been leading the environmental sustainability example for years; inspiring other organizations and community leaders. In 2016, Cabarete Coffee decided to stop selling water bottles, and instead began offering all clients free, filtered water. Though there was an economic loss, the significant environmental impact was worth any money lost in sales.

PHOTO MATTHIAS RÜBY

PHOTO FRAN AFONSO

Did you know that when the Mariposa Environmental Activism group did a tally of plastic bags used in a local grocery store, we found that 11 single-use plastic bags were given out per minute, translating into 7.5 million bags a year? Understandably, we were shocked at these results and what it means for the children and the future of Cabarete. We have turned these grim statistics into motivation. As we consistently work more and more towards sustainability in our projects and community, we are excited to announce the launching of our “De Uno en Uno Salvaremos el Mundo” campaign. This campaign is focused on decreasing the consumption of single-use plastic bags in our community by motivating community collaborators and influencers (schools, small business owners, and restaurants) to begin to be committed to make a sustainable change in their reduction of single-use plastic bags.

THE MARIPOSA CENTER FOR GIRLS HAS ALSO SAVED OVER AN ESTIMATED 14,000 OF SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAGS BY UTILIZING THE UPCYCLED SHOPPERS FOR ALL OF OUR PURCHASING NEEDS.

Each participating business will be visited by our Environmental Activism group, given a survey tool and will sign an environmental commitment to the future children of Cabarete. All businesses who sign the commitment will be provided with some of our amazing Mariposa Upcycled shoppers (reusable bags made with upcycled sails that are sewn by Mariposa girls and women in the community; providing jobs, less trash and generating income for our environmental programming) with absolutely no cost, and solely with the commitment of using the bags instead of single use bags when making purchases. Also, we will be offering up to 20 eco ideas to each business and will be checked in on a monthly basis to register their progress and to better understand their needs.

PHOTO JIANCA LAZARUS

Lastly, an exciting component of this campaign will be to have each commitment campaign member tick statements that their small business does in becoming a true eco champion in our community. By May of 2020, all businesses who can prove their commitment will be featured in an article in our Cabarete Responsible Investment and Sustainable Tourism Guide for the 2021 year!

We are thrilled to be the leaders of a more conscious ecologically friendly future for Cabarete and look forward to celebrating with our local eco business champions, in solidarity for the protection of future generations of Cabarete! We have no doubt that… De Uno en Uno Salvaremos el Mundo!