OceansWatch wants to make a positive difference to the life of the people in Island communities. Aid projects can be a double-edged sword so our aim is to work for the people only at their request. We intend to build relationships with the locals and see where they feel their needs lie. We will also look at the overall consequences of any assistance or projects we are involved in.

Our Sustainable livelihood Vision

Our vision is for Island communities to be sustainable.

Our Sustainable livelihood Mission

Our mission is to work with Island communities that request our assistance to develop sustainable livelihood projects.

Our current projects

As soon as OceansWatch started looking at marine conservation issues in developing countries, we realised that they were inexorably linked with humanitarian issues. As the marine environment is their main source of protein, everyone who lives by the coast in a developing country relies to some extent on having a productive reef ecosystem.

Moana Arts

Moana Arts is a new initiative by OceansWatch where the artisans of developing countries can achieve a fairer price for their crafts.  Presently the artisans sell their work locally, often to companies that haggle them down to the lowest possible figure who then sell on to the general public at many times the price.  The idea for Moana Arts came about after searching for opportunities for the artisans to maximise the return for their work.

OceansWatch buys the handicraft from the artisans at a fair local selling price. 

We then sell them at a market and online in New Zealand.  All the bags and carvings have the name of the artist and we have information about them so people can know where there money is going. All the profits are returned to the artisans.