Libaran Island Community Tourism, Borneo

Location - Sandakan, Borneo, Malaysia

Libaran Island is known as "Turtle Island" due to the thousands of sea turtles that return to next here every year. The FOSTER project (Friends of Sea Turtles Education and Research) was initiated on the island to ensure the turtles remain protected, and to encourage tourism that fosters conservation, as well as economic opportunities.

A Malaysian non-profit organisation has helped the Libaran community to develop a tourism experience on the island that is led by women, most of whom have never had a paying job before. They speak with travellers to highlight the uniqueness of the community's culture and share it with them, and they are also able to sell hand made crafts made from ocean plastic waste.