• February 2024

    The world of mangrove roots. Life also happens under water.

And then everything turned out differently..

We wanted to reserve the February newsletter entirely for our timber partnerships, but then the big rain came and everything literally fell through. The unimaginable masses of water caused landslides that made a number of roads and highways impassable. We were literally trapped in Mati. Our bongo could not return to Davao after we had delivered school chairs to Mati. According to surveys, even older residents could not remember ever experiencing such heavy rains.

In Mati, we worked as part of a globally unique project that aims to prove that inhabitants of mangroves, seagrass beds and reefs enter into a symbiotic relationship that leads to the mutual benefit of all “parties”. It has been proven that these parties provide for more marine life, but until now it has never been documented how the three habitats correspond to each other and how much the population of marine life increases when they interact. Mama Earth have to say thank you for your contribution.

The two well-known filmmakers Uli Kunz and Timo Höft from Germany accompanied the project. Over 200 hours of film have now been shot and will hopefully be edited into a TV documentary this year. The filmmakers did an amazing job and were behind their cameras almost 24/7. Their photos and films are amazing and document our work in an exemplary way, because as we all know, Mama Earth activities are not limited to planting mangroves. We also bring much needed income to households and are active in showing children and young people the power of nature so that their respect helps to preserve it. We are part of the whole and have to behave accordingly.

Rain, rain and more rain. Many roads were also impassable due to landslides.

This turtle laid 114 eggs the first time in Mati, Dahican Beach, laid 114 eggs, which were moved to a safe place.

These 9,000 planted mangroves in Bobon, Mati, Davao Oriental grow towards the artificial reef.

Fishing families and mussel collectors live in very simple conditions and are happy about every additional mangrove to increase the mussel and fish stocks.

The Guang Guang peninsula. The bright patches will be planted from the beginning of March 2024 to restore the interior of the mangrove conservation park to its original state.

The two filmmakers Uli Kunz and Timo Höft during their break when they have to work.

The artificial reef made of clay stones is a feast for the eyes even after construction.

More plastic than plankton

The world’s oceans now contain more plastic than plankton. So it’s time to take a closer look at this problem too. We not only need to collect plastic, but also find ways to reuse it sensibly, like we do with our school chairs. That is why we are currently working on a concept to avoid the flood of plastic or at least to recycle it, for example to build houses. In short: our calendar of activities is overflowing.

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