We are Jirka and Míša, a couple from Czech Republic and although it is a great country to live, we both are water creatures (or aquaholics) and we have always wanted to live by the sea. We both come from similar background of low-income families who could not afford to travel too much but we have always been fascinated and inspired by those who travel a lot, so all the money we saved throughout almost decade together was always going to our travels.

   After finishing our university studies, we decided to fulfil our dream to live by the sea by moving to Barcelona even though it meant leaving our fields of study which are addictology for Míša and chemistry for Jirka.

​   We were visiting local beaches a lot and what bothered us was the trash people were leaving there. Then during World Ocean Day in 2020 we decided to act and start picking up trash to raise the awareness about it too through the project MJ Aquaholics for which we started Instagram account and launched simple website. We joined local cleaning group but quickly decided we need to clean environment on our own as well and organize clean-ups to get more people into this activity. Moreover, we started adding more and more eco stuff into our every day lives. We generally have minimalistic lifestyle following motto ‘less things, more experiences‘.

​    Then, during Covid lockdown we had a lot of time to think about our future and we knew that trash picking in Barcelona is not enough. We both love travelling for several reasons – meeting new great people, learning about different cultures and lifestyles and for the local cuisine. After trash picking became stable part of our lives, we started to realize more and more that trash in the environment is a global problem and although social media are great way to connect with everyone around the world, being personally present is even better. Because we learned Spanish while living in Barcelona and we wanted to improve it even more, we decided to fly to Mexico and make our way through the Latin America. Our goal is to do clean-ups at least once a week but often we do it even more frequently, we have 2 bags and couple of gloves with us almost at all times. We regularly join forces with local cleaning groups and mobilize local people through social media like Instagram (in English) and TikTok (in Spanish). We believe that even by being seen picking up trash, some people might change their behaviour and start to care about their surroundings. Additionally, we started giving lectures in schools about plastic, its origin and issues connected to it. To make it entertaining, we use simple chemical experiments. If there is someone who might have a chance to convince even the most stubborn adults, it is their children.

        Now, we are travelling on low budget through Latin America and raising the awareness through trash picking and social media everywhere we go. We love volunteering, meeting locals, learning about their culture, it makes the best memories.

       The project is growing a lot and there is definitely a long way ahead of us, but we are driven through our love for planet Earth.