We were lucky to witness first hand this tour-de-force led by Mark Shuttleworth. After flying above the canopy of a jungle wrapped up in blankets of mists, we land our tiny plane carrying two Air sups and one Surf Earth 5’8, the biggest the luggage hold could allow. Right away, we notice the total absence of plastic garbage on the island. Even though Principe has only 7,000 inhabitants, compared to 200,000 on its sister island, the contrast is striking. We settle in a little house without running water in the heart of the capital. There are only a few roads yet we count a multitude of recycling bins! We are the only travelers in the village, but the locals pay us no more attention than in Sao Tomé.
“Will you give me your bottle when it’s empty?” I didn’t even see this little girl come closer to us, almost as tall as Shadé. Estrela, the young Portuguese lady, head of the NGO Principe Trust funded by our South African in orbit, explain to me that each person able to collect fifty used plastic bottles will get a stainless-steel water bottle. This bottle gives access to one of the 20 filtered water fountains installed by the foundation.
