Life Changing Social Enterprise Seeks Crowdfunding Support

Manchester, United Kingdom, October 6, 2015 (Newswire.com) - A creative social project set to brighten up the homes and gardens of people all over the world with ethically sourced, custom handmade hammocks is seeking crowdfunding to support a new online enterprise.

Toucan Hammocks is an innovative social project designed in Nicaragua, Central America, dedicated to providing shelter, education, training, jobs and a fair salary to young adults with deprived backgrounds and disabilities. The initiative aims to help vulnerable members of society bring colour and conscience into the lives of others by teaching traditional crafting methods to create bespoke woven hammocks by hand.

"Toucan Hammocks is truly inspired by the love and dedication these people have to life itself. I see real value in helping these people achieve something for themselves. Most of the young people involved in the project are extremely talented and find it rewarding to create something beautiful as part of a team, totally from scratch."

Antony Boffey, Founder

Young handicapped adults work for half a day and are encouraged to study for the other half, which is subsidised by the social project with proceeds from its hammock sales.

All the raw materials used to make the hammocks are locally sourced and made from eco-friendly resources. The cotton used to weave the fabric is grown on farms that do not use synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilisers or pesticides. The dyes used to create the vivid colours in the fabric are also 100% natural.

The volunteers carefully spin the threads and dye them all by hand. They are then hand woven and knotted with extreme precision using traditional techniques. Each hammock is custom made uniquely for every individual from scratch and sold at local markets by the volunteers.

Inspired by the ethics, digital marketing expert, Antony Boffey (33) from Cheadle, Manchester, came across the project, whilst backpacking holiday in Nicaragua last year. He was moved and fascinated by the talent and creativity of the volunteers and, as well as buying a hammock for his new home, he wanted to do more to help.

Antony said: “I was standing underneath a corrugated iron roof in a traditional make-shift shack, taking shelter from an epic downpour, I was lucky enough to witness quite an incredible sight. A lady was inside weaving this sumptuous hammock, in between the sound of the bouncing raindrops on the iron roof, she weaved at an incredible pace. After being mesmerised for two minutes, I got talking to another local who explained Maria, had been weaving hammocks like this and selling them to tourists like me at the local market. 30 seconds later I discovered she was blind.

“I walked over to where she was working, welcomed and greeted by the team of volunteers, I was given a tour of the workshop, where I saw how these exquisite pieces are made completely by hand. As I learnt more about the project, and heard the stories about the difference it makes to people’s lives and what they wanted to achieve, I realised that I too wanted to get involved and help make a difference.”

Antony has set up a kickstarter project to crowdfund an e-commerce website for Toucan Hammocks so that people all over the world can create their own personalised premium quality hammocks online and be part of the project. Looking to raise $2,500, the Kick Starter project will mean that Antony will have secured the funds to create an enlightening website to help the volunteers sell more hammocks. Customers will be able to use the site to create
their own unique designs and get more involved in the project, learn about the volunteers and even take a tour of Central America and discover more about the culture and incredible bio diversity.

Antony added: “Vulnerable people from all walks of life are encouraged to get involved in the project which has already started to make an incredible difference to many lives of people who would otherwise have had a chance at creating a successful future for themselves.

“Toucan Hammocks is truly inspired by the love and dedication these people have to life itself. I see real value in helping these people achieve something for themselves. Most of the young people involved in the project are extremely talented and find it rewarding to create something beautiful as part of a team, totally from scratch.”

Please note this site is under construction and due to launch in October 2015
For more information on Toucan Hammocks and how to create one, visit www.toucanhammocks.com .

To show your support and back the Toucan Hammocks Kickstarter Social venture now, please visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/1136982967/sustainable-eco-tourism-i-can-you-can-we-can-touca

​For further information please contact Paneesha Chauhan at [email protected] or via Phone on +44 (0)7793 034299