(6 Oct 2023) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Caracas, Venezuela - 06 October 2023 1. A man getting a haircut as a volunteer for a conservation project that uses human hair to clean Maracaibo Lake 2. Various of man getting haircut 3. People waiting in line to get haircut 4. Woman getting her hair cut 5. Hair falling to the floor 6. Various of volunteer sweeping hair from the floor and taking it to deposit bag 7. Fabiana Garanton, volunteer and event organizer, speaking to people 8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Fabiana Garanton, event organizer volunteer: "I think it's a great project with which we can really make a difference, maybe not save the lake entirely, but to begin to help and raise awareness. The fact we are here today, and all these people mobilized to donate a little bit of hair, whether they collected from their hair salon or they came to cut it here means they have an environmental awareness already and that Lake Maracaibo matters to them." ASSOCIATED PRESS Maracaibo, Venezuela - ARCHIVE: 09 August 2023 9. Various of drone footage of contaminated Lake Maracaibo ++MUTE++ 10. Oil spills in Lake Maracaibo ASSOCIATED PRESS Caracas, Venezuela - 06 October 2023 11. People in line to get a hair cut 12. Barbers working 13. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Vanessa Marin, 31, owner of barber studio called "Caché" "If this can help and if it is in our hands to save Lake Maracaibo, then it's great that we could help at least to do our bit." 14. Various of dog getting haircut STORYLINE: Pollution at Lake Maracaibo, the largest in Latin America, filled with massive oil spills, seems unsolvable. But Venezuela's NGO Mermaid Project has just proposed an innovative ally to counteract its pollution: human and animal hair. On Friday, dozens of people responded to an invitation to get a free haircut at the Central University of Venezuela halls to donate their hair to the project. According to the organizers, the collected hair is used to build mats that, as barriers, have proven to be effective in absorbing crude oil from the water. They say that one pound of hair can absorb between five and eight pounds of oily material. The San Francisco-based non-profit organization Matter of Trust already uses that method and has taken the water cleaning project using hair to more than 33 countries. "The fact we are here today, and all these people mobilized to donate a little bit of hair, whether they collected from their hair salon or they came to cut it here, means they have an environmental awareness already and that Lake Maracaibo matters to them.", said Fabiana Garanton, a lawyer who volunteered to help organize the event to collect hair for the project. The Mermaid Project began in August, based in Maracaibo city, 600 kilometers (372 miles) west of the capital, Caracas. The city's symbol, Lake Maracaibo, is severely threatened by pollution and oil spills. Environmentalists say Lake Maracaibo, which once was at the heart of Venezuela’s oil boom, has become a polluted wasteland. AP Video shot by Juan Arraez =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/423a0f709ec8401d83cee95b0296d885

• published: 11 Oct 2023
• views: 357