Co-operative Ventures

Just over a year ago, banking heir David de Rothschild set out to sea on a 60-foot catamaran made of 12,500 plastic bottles. Why? To pioneer an expedition that would captivate the public's attention, raise their awareness and inspire them to act. He chose to use 12,500 bottles because that's how many are needlessly dumped every 8 seconds.

This venture was deliberately co-operative, drawing on many people's vision and expertise. Rothschild chose to work with Adventure Ecology who shared his ideas - with their long-term ambition to create an international, youth-based community of change-makers acting to address global issues of sustainability. The two paired up in order to show the world that our methods of waste disposal are fundamentally inefficient.

A project on this scale could not have been undertaken without extensive support. It is here that the idea of co-operative enterprise comes into play. Adventure Ecology assembled a multi-disciplinary team who converted 12,500 plastic bottles into a functional craft equipped with solar panels, wind and trailing propeller turbines, and bicycle generators. They employed professionals from the fields of sustainable design, boat building, architecture and material science to enable the Plastiki to be the unique expedition vessel it is today.

Without the allegiance of investors, support from business partners and a host of different talents and skills, this incredible journey across the Pacific would be little more than the idle thoughts of a dreaming optimist.

What impressed us most of all when we first read about the Plastiki? It was David de Rothschild's view that for every problem there are many possible solutions. At a time when there's no shortage of naysayers, we draw strength and inspiration from this young visionary's accent on the positive. His achievement is a beautiful illustration of Aesop's ancient wisdom: united we stand, divided we fall.