In the Same Boat

Last week we visited the nearby Arctic Salmon Center, where we bumped into a small group of people who were there for a business meeting. It turned out they were the crew of In the Same Boat, a Norwegian NGO, visiting our village for a few days. In the Same Boat is a professional beach cleaning organization, working with seven boats along the extensive Norwegian coast all year around. Since 2015 they have collected more than 1250 tonnes of plastic - that's approximately the weight of eight diesel locomotives, or the weight of 65.5 millions of plastic bottles. They are planning to clean 20 000 beaches by 2025.

Due to lack of sufficient funds the only way they can stay afloat is with the help of volunteers. On this last project there were helpers from Switzerland, France and Norway, and we have also met the founder Rolf, and Anna from Austria, the skipper in their sailboat Fonn.

They invited us onboard for a chat and a nice cup of tea. We exchanged volunteering stories, talked about the challenges they face, and how they managed to grow from an idea into such an impactful organization. Rolf also talked about the massive amounts of data they collect on a daily basis, and how they follow their progress on the map. We talked about opportunities for collaboration, and ideas on how we can possibly help their work from the coast.

We are very glad to have met these amazing people. It feels we were just in the right place at the right time. The amount of hours and effort they put into coastal cleaning is immense, and we really hope we can be a part of it in the future. Please watch their introduction below if you have a few minutes.